Chapter 124 Pool Table

Chapter 124: Pool Table

That little ingrate, Shen Ci, spent New Year’s with Shen Shiyan again this year.

Song Xianghan bought a seaside villa as her and Gao Mengying’s wedding home, with most of the soft furnishings finished before the New Year and it had been aired out for over half a month.

Inside, there was a multi-functional entertainment room, specially prepared for gatherings like this, and the whole group was together, lively and bustling.

The winter sea wind was bitingly cold, but the villa was warm. Shen Ci wore a thin mink sweater and still felt a bit hot. While chatting, he reached his hand out to Shen Shiyan beside him, who obligingly rolled up his sleeves, revealing half of his forearm.

“You’re so lazy you might as well die,” Song Qiuchi shot Shen Ci a glare.

“Years of being called ‘daddy’ weren’t for nothing,” Shen Ci said, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

Song Xianghan was pulling Gao Mengying along as they fiddled with the latest mahjong table, ready to win big.

“Where are Shen Sicheng and Bufan?” Qi Zizhu set a soda on the coffee table and looked around.

“They went out to set off fireworks,” Shen Shiyan replied, opening the soda Shen Ci handed him before passing it back.

“I’m begging you, Shiyan-ge,” Song Qiuchi said, clasping her hands together. “Just hit him a couple of times.”

The two had been together for over half a year without leaving the honeymoon phase, and Song Qiuchi felt it was because Shen Shiyan spoiled Shen Ci too much.

Qi Zizhu leaned in beside Song Qiuchi and joined in teasing the clingy pair across from them.

Shen Shiyan didn’t argue, just smiled faintly as he played with Shen Ci’s hair.

“Anyone up for losing some money?” Song Xianghan pulled out a soft chair at the mahjong table and sat down.

Song Qiuchi had impulsively bought a lottery ticket a few days ago and won 66,000 yuan, feeling her luck was blazing, so she was the first to sit down.

“I don’t know how to play, you guys go ahead,” Qi Zizhu waved at Gao Mengying and glanced out the window.

They needed one more player, so Shen Ci nudged Shen Shiyan. “Ge, you go.”

Having managed the Shen family affairs in previous years, though he’d never sat at the table, he’d learned the rules through observation.

“Alright.” Shen Shiyan stood up and walked over.

The new mahjong tiles were slightly cool. Shen Shiyan smoothly drew his hand, arranged it, and discarded a 2 Bamboo.

New Year’s was never short of dried fruits and snacks. Song Xianghan, following the standard of a card room, had placed small round tables at each corner for easy snacking and trash disposal.

“30,000,” Song Xianghan said, a slim cigarette clamped between her lips, unlit.

“Pong.” Gao Mengying, sitting beside her, reached over and pulled the cigarette from her lips, tossing it onto the small table. “White Dragon.”

“That’s only the second one today,” Song Xianghan laughed, drawing a tile. “90,000.”

“7 Bamboo.” Song Qiuchi stared at her awful hand, looking hopeless. “I’m already stuck here as a third wheel, and I can’t even draw a decent tile.”

“You used up all your luck winning that lottery the other day,” Qi Zizhu came over to join the fun, handing Song Qiuchi a peeled sugar orange with a smile.

Shen Ci stood behind Shen Shiyan, loosely wrapping his arms around his neck, his chin resting on top of his head. He held a handful of caramel sunflower seeds, cracking them with his fingernails and feeding the kernels directly into Shen Shiyan's mouth.

Shen Shiyan opened his mouth, lightly brushing Shen Ci’s fingertips, the sweet caramel flavor spreading across his mouth.

“Kong.” Shen Shiyan set aside the four tiles at the edge, then drew a replacement tile (60,000) and discarded a 9 Bamboo.

Shen Ci slowly started to understand.

After feeding Shen Shiyan the whole handful of seeds, Shen Ci stood up, patted his hands, and planned to grab another handful.

“Stop peeling,” Shen Shiyan said, discarding an 8 Circle, glancing at Shen Ci’s small movements. “It’ll ruin your nails.”

“Oh.” Shen Ci leaned in to brush off a bit of seed shell dust from Shen Shiyan’s clothes, then went to the bathroom to wash his hands.

When he came back, the round wasn’t over yet.

“Come draw a tile,” Shen Shiyan beckoned to Shen Ci. “Let’s see how lucky you are.”

Shen Ci walked over, drying his hands, leaned against the side of the chair back, and casually picked up the tile.

Shen Shiyan glanced at it, frozen for two seconds, then smirked. “Pure one suit self-draw with concealed Kong.”

“...”

“...Didn't I buy this mahjong table?”

“Can he count cards?”

“Just lucky, just lucky,” Shen Ci said, pushing the tiles down and collecting money from the other three with a grin.

“Sicheng-ge! Chen Bufan, one of you take over.” Song Qiuchi stared at her unfinished hand, exasperated, calling to the two who had just returned.

“I’ll go, I’ll go.” Chen Bufan took off his jacket. “Sicheng-ge’s going to confess to Zizhu-jie again... mmm!?”

Before he could finish saying “confession,” Shen Sicheng directly covered his mouth.

“Surprise! Surprise!” Shen Sicheng hissed in Chen Bufan’s ear, irritated, then looked up to see Qi Zizhu’s earlobes seemed slightly red.

Chen Bufan, now freed, sat down, rubbing his hands together and boasting to Song Qiuchi that he was sure to win big.

“Heh...” Song Qiuchi curled the corner of her mouth. “Good luck with that. Two fists are still no match for four hands, unless you call your girlfriend over to back you up.”

“This is the power of love,” Chen Bufan said in a very cringey, dramatic tone, then pulled out his phone to video call his girlfriend of two months so she could watch him play.

“...” Song Qiuchi couldn’t take it anymore and dragged Shen Ci, who was practically sitting on Shen Shiyan’s lap, to the next room to play pool.

The mahjong table was a bit noisy. Shen Ci grabbed a pool cue and traded shots with Song Qiuchi.

“Not bad, Secretary Shen,” Song Qiuchi raised an eyebrow.

“You flatter me, Sicheng-ge taught me well.” Shen Ci sank another ball. “By the way, those two suitors from a while back—still not interested?”

It was Song Qiuchi’s turn.

“Not interested.” She leaned down to aim, calculating the angle. “I haven’t met the person I’d want to marry at first sight yet.”

Song Qiuchi was never short of excellent suitors, but for her, something was always missing. Sometimes she didn’t even know what kind of person could make her commit for life.

A couple of years ago, she’d occasionally dwell on this question, but as she got older, she’d settled into a calmer mindset, deeply feeling that life was already happy enough.

As for a partner, it would just be the icing on the cake of her wonderful life—no regrets if it didn’t happen.

“How about a skateboard match sometime?” Shen Ci shifted the topic, his thoughts drifting as he looked at the pool table’s surface.

“I’ll wipe the floor with you,” Song Qiuchi lifted her head. “I can skate in heels.”

"..." Shen Ci laughed out loud.

When midnight struck, both the mahjong game and the pool game paused. The group went outside to congratulate Shen Sicheng, who had finally succeeded in confessing his feelings, then lit the fuse. Fireworks soared into the sky one by one, illuminating the sky.

"Run, run! Why does this firework go off all at once?"

"Happy New Year!"

"Aaaaaah, Happy New Year!"

"..."

Shen Ci felt like crying. His best friends and the person he loved most were all by his side, exchanging blessings.

Someone took his hand, a warm palm pressing against his.

"Are your hands cold?" Shen Shiyan asked, his eyes smiling.

"Not cold." Shen Ci held back his tears. He looked at the few people not far away, who were already playing with sparklers.

"You haven't kissed me yet this year." Shen Shiyan let go of his hand, cupped Shen Ci's face with both hands, and straightened his tilted head. "Shen Ci, you have to make up for all the previous years."

Shen Ci looked at Shen Shiyan, who was right in front of him.

"Give me my lucky money!" Shen Ci lightly pressed his lips to Shen Shiyan's.

Shen Shiyan rubbed Shen Ci's face. "Okay."

Shen Ci was actually almost used to this kind of intimacy, but today his heart was beating very fast.

"Shen Shiyan," Shen Ci suddenly said. "Buy a pool table and set it up at home."

Yunjing Mansion definitely couldn't fit one, but the empty villa in the suburbs could be renovated.

Shen Shiyan instinctively tried to find a way to make his sudden idea work, asking in a calm voice, "Why are you suddenly into playing? I noticed you weren't that interested before."

"Not to play." Shen Ci shook his head.

"Huh?" Shen Shiyan was taken aback.

Shen Ci stood on his tiptoes, leaned close to his ear, and said in a low voice, "To do it."

He kissed Shen Shiyan's earlobe, then added, "I want to try it on the pool table."