Preparing for the New Year's Goods

......

"Hey, wake up and eat your takeout." A knock sounded at the door.

This was a room filled with all sorts of bizarre ornaments. Samurai armor, bandages, masks from some African tribe, surfboards—it had almost everything, enough to open a little novelty shop.

The blankets on the bed shifted slightly, and then the young girl slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Why do I feel so tired..."

A tickling sensation came from her fingers. Chao Yiyu turned her head, only to find a strand of hair as thick as a finger resting on her hand.

Even though it was so light, it felt incredibly heavy as it landed on her fingers.

She subconsciously touched her hair. With almost no force at all, a clump of hair came away in her palm.

Chao Yiyu's body stiffened, as if her heart had been pierced. She looked at it quietly for a long time before murmuring,

"No way..."

She quickly walked to the mirror in the bathroom. By now, her hair had thinned out significantly, to the point where her scalp was clearly visible on one side. The reflection in the mirror showed her with a deathly pale face. The next moment, a warm sensation trickled down her nose.

Drip.

Bright blood bloomed into a dazzling red flower in the sink. Chao Yiyu hastily covered her nose.

"......"

"Is it... this fast..." She lowered her hand, her throat bobbing.

......

......

"I feel like in a little while, Liu Dehua is going to be unlocked on the broadcasting systems of all the major shopping malls, singing things like 'Congratulations on your prosperity'..." Tang Keke muttered to Bai Yuyou while sitting on the sofa in Ye Shuang's house.

"Yeah, I think I've heard it," Bai Yuyou replied.

As the two girls chatted, their eyes fell on Ye Shuang, who was sitting on the other side of the sofa. He was sitting with his legs slightly crossed, holding knitting needles in his hands. A red fluffy scarf was already starting to take shape.

Wearing pajamas and light-prescription silver-rimmed glasses while doing such a thing, Ye Shuang gave off a strong househusband vibe.

"Brother, what are you doing?"

"Making a little scarf for Yi Wan," Ye Shuang said. He quickly finished knitting the yarn in his hands, producing what looked like a very festive scarf.

Holding it, he called out to Yi Wan, who was resting on the cat tree not far away. "Yi Wan, come here."

Sprawling on the cat tree, Yi Wan stretched out its flat face. Its ears twitched, naturally hearing Ye Shuang calling, but it turned its head away as if it didn't understand.

"I have cat treats."

As soon as Ye Shuang finished speaking, Yi Wan jumped down from the cat tree with a heavy thud and charged over like a semi-truck. "Meow."

"You are always so proactive when there is food." Ye Shuang grabbed Yi Wan. Weighing it slightly in his hands, he noted it was a formidable twenty-pounder. He then slipped the red scarf around Yi Wan's neck—or more accurately, the suspected neck area.

After all, the cat was like a dense, unrisen steamed bun; the scarf even seemed to choke it a bit.

Yi Wan wriggled its body, clearly disliking the feel of the scarf. But after a brief struggle, it gave up and plopped onto the floor, its tail swishing casually as if in protest.

"Looks like you do not like it. Maybe it is too tight," Ye Shuang said with a smile. Wearing the scarf made Yi Wan's face look even rounder. However, the scarf was not completely finished yet. Ye Shuang planned to sew the character for Fortune onto it before the Spring Festival arrived.

After coaxing Yi Wan with two cat treats, Keke took out her phone and started snapping photos of the cat.

Perhaps finding Keke a bit annoying, Yi Wan chose to hide in Bai Yuyou's arms.

But the girl lifted it high up and eventually let Yi Wan rest on top of her head.

One person and one cat, both with wide, round eyes, looking quite adorkable together.

"It is about time to start getting things ready for the New Year. The malls should be selling stuff by now," Ye Shuang said. These things had to be bought in advance before the Spring Festival.

"Oh, oh, when are we going to buy them?" Keke asked. "Are we going together?"

"I made an appointment to go shopping with your Sister Chen Qin today," Ye Shuang shook his head. But thinking about it carefully, in the past, his parents were always the ones worrying about New Year's goods. He never expected to take on that role himself now.

In a way, could this be considered a kind of inheritance?

"I want to go too," Bai Yuyou suddenly said.

"That works too." Seeing that Bai Yuyou seemed interested, Ye Shuang did not refuse. Chen Qin would be taking a short break during this period, so Ye Shuang decided to take the two girls out to pick up Chen Qin from her company.

After all, the distance between the house and the company was a bit far, which was why he had not originally planned on taking the two little ones out.

After arriving at the company, Chen Qin seemed to still be in a meeting, which would probably take another ten minutes to finish.

"You two stay in this lounge for a while."

"Okay."

"Do not run around."

"Okey-dokey." Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke nodded repeatedly. However, the last time they were here, they had wandered into that Mr. Xu's office, so Ye Shuang was not entirely at ease.

After giving his instructions, Ye Shuang asked an employee to look after the two girls while he took the elevator upstairs.

"Sister Chen Qin's company is really big," Tang Keke said, looking up after Ye Shuang went upstairs.

Large panes of ultra-clear glass made the first floor incredibly bright.

"Mhm," Bai Yuyou nodded.

"By the way, Yuyou, it is almost the New Year. Are you going back to the Port District with Auntie to visit?" Tang Keke asked. The Auntie she mentioned was naturally Auntie Xian. Since it was almost the New Year and Auntie Xian's relationship with Yuyou had eased up...

"I... do not know," Bai Yuyou shook her head.

Then she said softly, "Wherever Ye Shuang is, that is where I will be."

"You really are super clingy to my brother, Yuyou," Tang Keke did not seem surprised by this answer at all. But if that was the case, she wondered if Ye Shuang would take Bai Yuyou back to the Port District for a visit.

"Yuyou, is your family also really rich..." Keke lowered her voice.

"I do not know."

"Do not forget me in the future." Tang Keke immediately started trying to ride her coattails, but Bai Yuyou just tilted her head and gave her a questioning look.

"What are you two whispering about?"

At this moment, Ye Shuang's voice rang out. Chen Qin was now standing beside him. Perhaps because she had just finished a meeting, Chen Qin looked a bit tired, but she still wore a smile.

"We were just talking about whether Yuyou will go back to the Port District for the New Year."

"Hm?" Hearing this, Ye Shuang glanced over at Bai Yuyou and then said,

"I have talked to Auntie Xian about this too. Her opinion is that the most important thing is what Yuyou wants."

However, given the current relationship between Auntie Xian and Yuyou, going back for a visit would not necessarily be a bad thing. But remembering that the Zhou family was inextricably linked to Yuyou's kidnapping, Ye Shuang kept that thought to himself.