Chapter 127 Extra: Spring Festival 01
by 退戈Chapter 127 Extra: Spring Festival 01
On January 25th, about a week before the Spring Festival, after finishing her work, Qiong Cang had to start pondering a serious issue—she felt that He Jueyun had changed, becoming strangely different, to the point where she could no longer ignore it.
This wasn't some delusional fantasy that comes with starting a romantic relationship, but a reasonable speculation based on meticulous observation.
Due to He Jueyun's invitation, Qiong Cang temporarily stayed at San Yao to help with post-evaluation work, while continuing her advisory collaboration with the public security system. This inevitably increased her opportunities to meet He Jueyun.
Apart from the usual work-related exchanges, whenever he had free time, He Jueyun would come to chat with her and take her out for meals. His obvious attempts to flaunt their relationship, seemingly without reason, made single colleagues like Song Shu whine in envy, nearly disrupting the harmony within the team.
But in the past couple of days, He Jueyun rarely took the initiative to talk to Qiong Cang. Instead, he loitered at the threshold of her office with a probing and observing gaze.
Qiong Cang saw him several times and wanted to greet him, but He Jueyun always seemed preoccupied, either out of sorts or turning away abruptly, behaving very unusually.
Once, when Qiong Cang passed by He Jueyun's office intending to bring him some fruit, she pushed the door open and caught him on the phone.
His voice was hurried and tense, deliberately lowered to avoid being overheard, one hand tapping lightly on the table as he anxiously explained something to the person on the other end. Upon noticing Qiong Cang's presence, he immediately hung up and tossed the phone onto the table.
...Clearly acting guilty.
Qiong Cang asked him what he was talking about. He Jueyun scratched his head and then offhandedly mentioned that the client was being unreasonable again, making unreasonable demands, which he firmly and righteously refused to protect the employees' rights.
Qiong Cang gave him a slightly skeptical look.
He Jueyun didn't realize that every line on his face twitched when he lied.
Of course, Qiong Cang had no intention of prying into He Jueyun's privacy. She believed that even as a couple, they could maintain some distance. However, He Jueyun's behavior was just too sneaky, making it hard for her to pretend not to notice.
After returning home, Qiong Cang diligently searched through a lot of information but found nothing conclusive. She then consulted Fang Qi.
Fang Qi's answer was: "Got nothing better to do?"
Qiong Cang frowned: "Are you talking about Brother Q?"
Fang Qi indifferently dug his ear: "I'm talking about you."
Qiong Cang: "..." That was definitely not correct.
Unable to quench her thirst for knowledge, Qiong Cang turned to an emotional forum for anonymous advice, hoping for the collective wisdom of the internet.
Most of the netizens' responses were: He's cheating, advise to break up, if you don't, you're not human.
—That was impossible.
Qiong Cang believed He Jueyun wouldn't do something so morally bankrupt.
Among the varied responses from enthusiastic netizens, Qiong Cang found a relatively plausible guess.
This might just be normal male anxiety, Qiong Cang thought. After all, on Jinjiang, a popular online literature platform, protagonists over thirty are already being mocked by younger readers as old men, and He Jueyun was gradually entering that stage.
Qiong Cang showed understanding, concern, and tolerance towards this situation.
She felt that at such times, it was best not to overly stimulate He Jueyun, so she chose to feign ignorance.
Qiong Cang shut down her computer and calmly got up, added some goji berries and codonopsis to the wellness kettle, and waited for He Jueyun to return.
·
At 9:30 PM, He Jueyun finally dragged his weary body home.
As the year-end approaches, the company's workload is particularly heavy. Besides being busy with the launch of the new game update, He Jueyun also has to plan the New Year activities.
He Jueyun slumped onto the sofa, utterly drained. Qiong Cang brought him a cup of goji berry infused water and heard him speaking in hushed tones on the phone, covering the speaker.
"Alright, alright, I know. I'll come to see you, don't look for Qiong Cang!"
"Leave it to me, I know what to do! I'll talk to her properly. Don't act impulsively!"
"...I know I have to take responsibility, but I don't want to upset her either. It's two different things. You know, Qiong Cang's upbringing was quite unique."
Qiong Cang put the cup down, smiled at him, and then returned to the bedroom.
At night, He Jueyun kept tossing and turning in bed.
Qiong Cang slept lightly, and even though He Jueyun tried to be quiet, she was still disturbed. It wasn't until the early hours of the morning that she finally succumbed to sleep.
She hadn't slept for long when the restless He Jueyun shook her shoulders and called her name.
"Qiong Cang, Qiong Cang."
Qiong Cang, half-asleep, felt like her soul was floating above her as she heard the repeated calls. Unable to bear his pestering, she frowned and mumbled a response.
He Jueyun whispered in her ear, "Qiong Cang, come home with me for the New Year, okay? I want to introduce you to my parents. They're really nice, not strict at all, and they really like you. They get lonely during the holidays, so let's go stay with them for a couple of days. What do you think?"
Qiong Cang let out a muffled groan, clearly still drowsy, her eyes refusing to open.
He Jueyun, like a persistent whisperer, kept saying, "Qiong Cang, is that okay? Come home with me."
Qiong Cang did hear him clearly, but she couldn't process the meaning of his words. All she wanted was to sleep, and in that moment, she would agree to anything. She nodded against the pillow.
He Jueyun, finally resolving the issue he had been fretting over for days, was ecstatic. All his insomnia, fatigue, and lack of appetite miraculously disappeared. He was so energized that he wrapped Qiong Cang in a tight embrace in the middle of the night.
After holding her for a while, he wasn't satisfied with her back facing him, so he turned her around.
Qiong Cang turned her head, her drowsiness fading, and she was almost fully awake. She stared at He Jueyun in the dark, her eyes filled with resentment, and said, "This is the last request, right?"
He Jueyun nodded with a smile, finally realizing he had disturbed her sleep. "Yes, hold me, and we'll sleep right away. Sorry, sweetheart."
Qiong Cang turned around and snuggled into his arms.
The next morning, He Jueyun was full of energy, bustling around and packing Qiong Cang's luggage.
He brought all her clothes over, piling them on the bed, and as he sorted through them, he asked, "Should we take this one? Do you want to buy some new ones? If you don't like shopping, we can just order a few online to try."
Qiong Cang leaned against the bed, feeling a daze, as if she had blacked out.
He Jueyun, oblivious, even grabbed the pillow from behind her and stuffed it into the suitcase.
As he started organizing the books, Qiong Cang finally couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"
He Jueyun, cheerfully replied while tidying up, "Going home."
Qiong Cang, confused, asked, "...Then where am I now?"
He Jueyun looked up at her expression and felt a surge of happiness.
This meant that to Qiong Cang, their shared living space was home.
He explained cheerfully, "I mean going back to my hometown, where my parents live."
Qiong Cang was stunned for a moment and asked, "Did I agree to this?"
He Jueyun was also stunned, then immediately shouted, "You agreed to it!"
He thought Qiong Cang was trying to back out, and anxiously shouted, "You agreed to it yesterday! You said 'yes', and you even nodded!"
Qiong Cang looked confused as she tilted her head and began to recall.
He Jueyun felt like his youth was over, instantly becoming dejected, his hands hanging limply over the suitcase, losing all motivation to pack and feeling lifeless.
He let out a soft sigh, his eyes showing a maturity beyond his years, as if he had already seen through the ways of the world and could only compromise with life.
Seeing him like this, Qiong Cang felt a bit of pity. She thought for a moment and asked, "You've been so mysterious these past few days, just for this?"
"'Just'?"
He Jueyun drew out his words, staring at Qiong Cang, silently condemning her.
"This is a very important matter! I haven't taken anyone back to meet my parents yet! Our He family is very traditional, you know that? Once you meet my parents, you're part of our family."
He was so worried he was practically wasting away, yet Qiong Cang was completely unaware.
Was his family's money not enough? Were his hints not obvious enough? Couldn't Qiong Cang show a little interest, so he could enjoy the thrill of being pressured into marriage?
He Jueyun lowered his head, hiding half of his face, his tone sorrowful and worried.
"Ah, I'm a single, unmarried guy. Every New Year, when relatives and friends gather together, I'm always the object of their ridicule."
Qiong Cang was surprised. Do rich people really have such simple worries? But she was more concerned about something else.
"Gather together?"
Qiong Cang didn't like dealing with elders. To be precise, if she hadn't met He Jueyun, she would have preferred to be alone.
He Jueyun's heart skipped a beat, realizing he had misspoken, and quickly corrected himself, "They gather behind my back, badmouthing me. At home, it's just... the four of us."
Qiong Cang hesitated and said, "That doesn't sound very good, does it?"
He Jueyun quickly nodded, "It's really not good! My mom told them you're my girlfriend, and they still don't believe it."
Qiong Cang said, "What's there not to believe?"
He Jueyun found this question difficult to answer.
After a while, Qiong Cang thought it through and said, "Then let's go."
He Jueyun almost shouted out loud. He restrained himself and said, "Really? Then I'll keep packing?"
Qiong Cang: "Yes."
He Jueyun tested again, "Then we'll leave at noon today?"
Qiong Cang couldn't help being surprised, "Are you in such a hurry?"
"I'm not in a hurry," He Jueyun covered up, "It's mainly my mom who's in a hurry. She's very impatient, you know?"
Qiong Cang had met Mrs. He before, and she was deeply impressed by the lady's beauty and generosity, two traits that would never be disliked in any situation. So she crouched down and helped He Jueyun pack.
Author's note:
Not sure which book to start next. Maybe "Blazing Sun" or a cultivation novel. We'll see, starting in September, will notify then.