New Year

The gala ended at eleven o'clock, and Ye Shuang and the others headed home.

The Light Music Club achieved a pretty good result at this New Year's gala, making it into the top ten of all performances. Perhaps it was because Little Yu's dart performance was particularly eye-catching. Of course, it didn't come without a price—that price being Tang Keke, who was currently slumped in the back seat like a lifeless sack.

She was muttering to herself, looking as if her soul had been scarred.

The poor kid had been traumatized.

"Keke, seeing your outstanding contribution today, I'll buy you a figure. Pick any one you want and send me the bill," Ye Shuang said with a smile as he gripped the steering wheel. After all, Tang Keke really had made the biggest sacrifice today.

To be honest, he really didn't know An Shiyu was planning that.

When he heard that fish say "just stand still," he subconsciously felt it wouldn't be that simple—but in these matters, there usually wasn't much need to worry about Tang Keke.

When things are dangerous, having An Shiyu around is the safest.

When things are safest, having An Shiyu around is the most dangerous.

"Wah? Really?" Tang Keke's shriveled corpse suddenly sprang back to life, seeming to radiate light from her entire body.

Dr. Ye's miraculous hands had brought the dead back to life.

"Anything under ten thousand is fine," Ye Shuang smiled. Too expensive wouldn't be good either.

"Long live the king!" Of course, Tang Keke wouldn't be greedy enough to ask for something incredibly expensive.

Ye Shuang looked at the surrounding traffic and glanced at the time on the dashboard. It was already past eleven.

"New Year's Day means a new year has arrived, so I've aged another year?" Ye Shuang murmured. By traditional reckoning, he'd be twenty-nine now?

But it didn't seem to matter much; Ye Shuang was used to people calling him Uncle.

To put it plainly, mindset was important. After all, there are forty-year-olds who claim to be twenty "metric" years old.

"New Year..." Bai Yuyou looked over from the passenger seat. Her concept of time was still very vague, and she didn't know what a new year signified.

"Right, it means a new beginning," Ye Shuang smiled.

Just as his voice fell, the time struck midnight. The next second, fireworks bloomed outside the car window, seeming to illuminate the entire sky in an instant.

"Happy New Year," Ye Shuang said.

"New year, new atmosphere."

"New year, new atmosphere..." Bai Yuyou pressed against the window looking out, the brilliant colors of the fireworks reflecting in her gem-like eyes.

She seemed to have seen this scene before.

It was from the small skylight in the attic; she had lain by the window just like this, watching the fireworks outside, but never knew what was happening.

So, it was to welcome the New Year.

Every time she saw these fireworks, they were beautiful...

"Ye Shuang..."

"Hmm?"

"Can I watch these fireworks with Ye Shuang every New Year from now on?"

Ye Shuang paused for a moment, then turned his head to find Bai Yuyou looking at him. In the firelight reflected from the fireworks, the girl's innocent eyes seemed to hold a trace of expectation.

"Yes, you can," Ye Shuang withdrew his gaze and smiled.

"Every year."

"Mhm."

At the same time, Ye Shuang's phone chimed. He glanced at it and saw it was from Chen Qin.

Although there was a time difference abroad, she still managed to send the message exactly at midnight.

Chen Qin: Ah Ye, Happy New Year~

Since he couldn't type easily, Ye Shuang sent a voice message back saying Happy New Year.

That was enough. After all, it wasn't the Spring Festival—only after eating the New Year's Eve reunion dinner did it count as the New Year in the truest sense.

The car merged into the traffic.

The rest of the night passed in silence.

...

Early morning.

"Mya-nee, mya-nee-ga."

Ye Shuang got up early to prepare breakfast, feeling a furry sensation at his feet—Yi Wan was hungry too. However, the automatic feeder had broken recently, causing it to "starve nine meals in three days." It looked every bit the piggy-cat that hadn't eaten in a whole thirty minutes.

"Didn't I just put out cat food? Or do you want a cat strip?" Ye Shuang held a bowl, whisking eggs to aerate them and make them fluffier, while asking the golden-yellow fat cat, Yi Wan.

"Mya-nee!" Hearing "cat strip," Yi Wan instantly perked up, its tail shooting straight up.

"No can do, you need to go on a diet."

As Ye Shuang spoke, he rummaged around the nearby table and finally pulled out a small sign.

[Dieting, Do Not Feed]

He then hung it around Yi Wan's neck... No, to be accurate, there was no neck; being so round, it could only be described as hanging below its head.

"Every time Yuyou finishes feeding you, you go beg food from Keke, and then come ask me. That won't do."

"Mya-nee." Yi Wan even flopped onto the floor, exposing its belly.

"Alright, alright, I need to cook."

Ye Shuang poured the egg mixture into the frying pan. There was a sizzling sound from the oil. Back in the apartment days, Yi Wan would have scurried under the sofa at the sound of sizzling oil, but now it was fearless.

"Yi Wan, if you can help me wake Yuyou up, I'll give you a cat strip. Or even a can of wet food," Ye Shuang said.

Although Yi Wan didn't understand exactly what Ye Shuang was saying, it understood what "cat strip" and "Yuyou" represented.

Find Yuyou = Get cat strip.

As if a light bulb had clicked on in its head, Yi Wan trotted up to the second floor.

"Huh? Did it actually understand?" Ye Shuang flipped the eggs and glanced at Yi Wan going upstairs.

This little guy...

After reaching the second floor, Yi Wan stood in front of Bai Yuyou's room door.

"Mya-nee." It called out.

The closed door remained motionless.

"Gah."

Yi Wan stood up on its hind legs, pushed against the door, and finally began to scratch at it with its claws.

As everyone knows, a cat scratching at a door is incredibly noisy, enough to make sleep impossible. This was the case for Bai Yuyou, who was sleeping inside. Because the heating was on, the girl wore thin pajamas; the hem had ridden up, revealing her smooth, fair abdomen.

"Scritch-scratch-scritch-scratch—"

The sound of Yi Wan scratching the door made the girl frown slightly. She turned over and mumbled, "Potato chips... are dancing."

"Mya-nee!"

"Hmm?" Only then did Bai Yuyou groggily open her beautiful eyes and sit up. Hearing Yi Wan's voice outside, she sluggishly opened the door and noticed the cat.

"What is it, Yi Wan?" Bai Yuyou asked.

The next second, looking as if she hadn't slept enough, she slowly turned around, went back to the bed, lay down, and went right back to sleep.

Yi Wan followed, jumping onto the bed and stepping on her stomach.

"Oof."

Bai Yuyou didn't understand what Yi Wan wanted, so she stuffed it under the quilt and hugged it.

"Mya-nee!"

Yi Wan was getting anxious.

It burrowed around inside the bedding, and finally, its rotund body dragged Bai Yuyou's quilt right out of the room.

Bai Yuyou sat up in a daze.

My quilt?

At that moment, Ye Shuang walked out of the kitchen carrying plates. Since they were going to the hot springs later, it was better to head out early.

The next second, he suddenly noticed a noise from the second floor.

He looked up and saw a bundle of bedding rushing down the stairs.

Ye Shuang: "?!"

Had the quilt gained sentience?!