New Year's Eve

Not many people in town wore helmets when riding.

Once they were a bit further away, Xia Yanchun's small hand mischievously slipped into Shen Nian's pocket. Her other hand had to hold the milk tea, so it had to suffer the cold for a bit.

It was a bit cold tonight, and Xia Yanchun's hands were somewhat stiff.

"Do you want some?"

Xia Yanchun offered the milk tea forward, the straw landing right by Shen Nian's mouth.

By the light of the streetlamps, her fair and clean face could be seen in the rearview mirror.

Shen Nian took the straw and sucked furiously, downing half the milk tea in just two gulps, though there were still just as many brown sugar boba pearls at the bottom.

"Ew, you drank from it after I did. Have you no shame?"

"You handed it to me wanting me to drink your saliva. You're the shameless one here."

"Bullshit, you're talking nonsense."

Xia Yanchun, acting tough despite being in the wrong, rested her head against Shen Nian's back and slowly finished the milk tea.

Chewing the boba pearls in her mouth, Xia Yanchun felt a sweet sensation in her heart.

Many shops in town were selling fireworks. Who knew if they had proper licenses; the town seemed very lax about it.

Xia Yanchun got off the bike, slowed her pace, and browsed through the stalls, comparing prices.

"It's a bit expensive, over a hundred bucks... some are over two hundred. Let's just buy some small ones to play with," Xia Yanchun said, tugging at Shen Nian's sleeve.

"You're right. I never realized fireworks were this expensive before."

"Our parents used to buy them, so of course we didn't care. A big five-dollar box of matchcrackers is enough for us to play with for days."

"Want to blow up some cow dung?"

"You're asking for it!"

I guessed what Shen Nian was implying in zero seconds, you should try it too.

Xia Yanchun kicked Shen Nian right in the butt.

Shen Nian rubbed his butt. "Did you not eat? So weak."

"I can't be bothered with you."

Xia Yanchun grunted and jogged over to the next firework stall.

This time she ignored the expensive fireworks and firecrackers, only looking at the ones they played with as kids.

Spinning tops, scattering flowers, double-bang firecrackers, sparklers... so many of them.

A lot of girls liked buying sparklers because the flames were small, pretty, and great for photos, but Xia Yanchun didn't like things that were too mild.

She was quite mischievous as a kid, dragging Shen Nian around all day. Even if he didn't want to go, she'd pull him along. They played with plenty of deep-water torpedoes and earth-shaking boomers, the intense kind of fireworks that could set off car alarms when they exploded.

But as she grew older, she became more timid. Although Xia Yanchun wanted to play with the powerful ones, she didn't quite dare to anymore.

"Buy this?" Shen Nian pointed at a Roman candle that you hold and shoot into the sky.

"Anything is fine, as long as you're treating."

"Alright, your bro is rich. I could even crush you with my money."

"True that."

If he were to crush someone with money, Shen Nian would definitely exchange it all for coins first.

After picking and choosing, they ended up buying some small spinning tops and scattering flowers. Shen Nian bought a bundle of double-bang firecrackers. They spent less than a hundred bucks.

"Fireworks nowadays are pretty expensive. Even matchcrackers are three bucks a small box."

"Whoever buys them is an idiot."

"Really though," Shen Nian strongly agreed.

...

Morning mist rolled over the longan tree in front of the house. On New Year's Eve, every household woke up early.

Because he had to get up early to put up spring couplets, Shen Nian slept in his own room last night. By the time he woke up, Chen Minyue had already cooked breakfast: a very simple meal of plain congee with green vegetables, along with a few glasses of pure milk.

"Time flies so fast. It's already the New Year," Chen Minyue said, holding her bowl and chatting with Wen Zhining outside.

"Yeah, the kids are almost nineteen."

Shen Nian also came out of the house holding his bowl, eating as he casually walked around. Whenever he encountered someone setting off firecrackers, he would dodge to prevent the ash and dust from falling into his congee.

"Morning, Auntie."

"Oh my, how come you always wake up so early? Little Chun is still sleeping, and we have to put up the spring couplets soon."

"So lazy? Auntie, just open the door and twist her ear. See if she gets up then."

"Hehehe..."

Wen Zhining covered her mouth and chuckled, highly amused.

Of course, she wouldn't actually do that. If her daughter wanted to sleep, she could sleep a little longer. It wouldn't be too late to wake her up when it was time to paste the couplets.

"Shen Nian, you're talking bad about me again."

A soft, lazy voice came from above. Looking up, Xia Yanchun was leaning over the balcony railing, though who knows when she got there.

He laughed out of exasperation. The moment he said anything bad about that silly Chun, this girl would sniff it out and appear.

"Everyone else is up, only you are still sleeping," Shen Nian bared his teeth in a grin.

"None of your business. It's not like I'm sleeping in your bed."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xia Yanchun ran back into her room. The sound of her slippers on the stairs was distinct as she came stomping down.

Without even eating breakfast, she came out wearing her pajamas with a coat draped over her shoulders. The very first thing she did upon exiting was run up to Shen Nian and land a dull kick on him.

Shen Nian looked at Auntie Wen and blinked innocently.

Hitting people is wrong. Aren't you going to discipline your daughter?

If you don't discipline her, your bro here is going to sneak through her window later and discipline her for you.

"Little Chun, you're a girl, mind your image," Wen Zhining said casually, just going through the motions because she really didn't want to interfere in the two kids' business.

These two kids, really. It looked like the beginnings of a romance, but then again, they had always been like this...

.

It's been a long time since I asked for release nudges.

Please give me release nudges and little gifts.