Both Su Jianâan and Tang Yulan were good cooks. They soon laid out a huge spread.
The sky gradually darkened.
The bright red lanterns and blooming fireworks welcomed the upcoming New Year. The street was astir with color and noise.
Su Jianâan came out of the kitchen with the last dish and inadvertently saw the gorgeous fireworks. She quickly ran to the window and looked up at the skyâ
The fireworks went off with a myriad of colors.
Su Jianâan could hardly conceal her joy and her face was wreathed with smiles.
The fireworks were reflected in Su Jianâanâs eyes, and the light added a glow to her face, making her more charming.
Lu Boyan walked over and gazed at Su Jianâan affectionately.
After a long while, Lu Boyan whispered, âItâs time to eat.â
âOkay,â Su Jianâan replied. She turned and met Lu Boyanâs eyes. Seeing Lu Boyanâs hands were empty, she asked, âWhere is Xiyu?â
âHe fell asleep,â Lu Boyan said. âI took him back to the childrenâs room.â
âWell, letâs have dinner!â
As they were in the dining room, Su Jianâan directly pulled Lu Boyan to sit down. At that time, Tang Yulan came over as well.
Su Jianâan ladled soup into bowls. Before she handed them to Lu Boyan and Tang Yulan, Tang Yulan suddenly said, âItâs a happy occasion today. Boyan, how about we drink some wine?â
âOkay.â
Lu Boyan put down the spoon and went to the cellar.
Right at this moment, Xiao Yunyun called Su Jianâan.
Maybe influenced by the festive atmosphere, Xiao Yunyun was very happy, and her voice sounded very excited.
âJianâan, my mom told me that the dinner on New Yearâs Eve represents a reunion. Why donât we eat together? We can also call my cousin and cousin-in-law!â
Su Jianâan smiled. âYunyun is such a child. Always acting on impulse,â she couldnât help thinking.
She replied, âYunyun, donât forget what youâll be doing tomorrow. We will have many chances to have dinner together. As for tonight, itâs better that we eat with our families. Aunt will enjoy you and Yuechuanâs company.â
These words enlightened Xiao Yunyun that her mother should want to have New Yearâs Eve dinner with Yuechuan.
After all, this was the first time in the past 20 years that Su Yunjin and Shen Yuechuan spent New Yearâs Eve together.
She had overlooked it. Fortunately, Su Jianâan reminded her!
Xiao Yunyun nodded and said cooperatively, âWell, see you tomorrow!â
âSee you.â Su Jianâan hung up the phone.
Right at this time, Lu Boyan brought the wine. He poured two glasses of wine for Tang Yulan and himself.
He didnât pour any for Su Jianâan.
Su Jianâan was still breastfeeding. She could not take anything with alcohol, including red wine.
Tang Yulan smiled and clinked her glass against Lu Boyanâs. She did not forget to comfort Su Jianâan, âJianâan, I will drink with you next New Yearâs Eve.â
Su Jianâan could only comfort herself that she had no interest in red wine or other wines!
She nodded and said, âOkay.â
Tang Yulan took a sip of the red wine and savored it. Suddenly, she thought of something and shook her head, saying, âNot necessarily. You might be in the lactation period again next year.â
It was impossible for Su Jianâan to breastfeed Xiyu and Xiangyi for more than a year.
And Tang Yulan just said âagainâ.
Therefore, the old lady meant that Su Jianâan might have another baby next year.
Su Jianâan was shocked and almost choked on the soup. She looked at Tang Yulan blankly.
Lu Boyan noticed Su Jianâanâs panic. He put down the spoon and said, âMom, we donât plan to have another child.â
Lu Boyan had made this decision when she gave birth to Xiyu and Xiangyi.
But he had never told Tang Yulan about it until today.
Tang Yulan looked at Lu Boyan and then at Su Jianâan. Only then did she realize that they had misunderstood her.
She smiled and slowly took a sip of the soup.
âDonât worry. Iâm just kidding. I am not urging you to have more children. And Iâll listen to your opinions on educating children. I wonât force you to do anything. After all, times are different. You young people can keep up with the trend. Iâm old and I should live in comfort in my old age.â
Su Jianâan was a little moved and she let out a sigh of relief.
To be honest, she could understand why Tang Yulan would want them to have another child.
Most elderly people hoped to have bigger families as it would be livelier.
âWould Lu Boyanâs direct rejection disappoint the old lady?â
As soon as the three of them finished dinner, Aunt Liu rushed down hurriedly and said that Xiyu and Xiangyi were crying hard. Maybe they were frightened by the sound of the fireworks.
Su Jianâan stopped thinking about anything else. She ran upstairs and heard the cries of Xiyu and Xiangyi from a distance.
She sped up and picked up Xiangyi as soon as she entered the childrenâs room. The little girl grabbed her clothes and wailed, struggling hard in her arms. Obviously, she was frightened by the unusual noises outside.
However, the fireworks outside wouldnât stop in a short time.
Lu Boyan came in later.
Su Jianâan looked at Lu Boyan and said helplessly, âWhat should we do?â
Lu Boyan was calm. He walked over to close the window and took out a remote control from the drawer. He pressed a button and the sound of fireworks was immediately muted.
Not hearing the sounds anymore, Xiangyiâs eyes widened and she looked around like an uneasy rabbit. After making sure that the horrible sounds had really disappeared, she rubbed her face against Su Jianâanâs chest and slowly calmed down.
Xiyu leaned against Lu Boyanâs arms and slowly stopped crying.
The two little guys were pacified and soon fell asleep again.
Su Jianâan finally felt relieved. She looked at Lu Boyan and asked curiously, âWhat did you do just now?â
âThe childrenâs room is soundproofed,â Lu Boyan said. âThe fireworks will continue in the next few days. Iâll insulate the room so that Xiyu and Xiangyi wonât be disturbed.â
Su Jianâan breathed a sigh of relief as if she had solved a big problem in her life. She put Xiangyi back in the crib and accompanied her for a while. After making sure the girl was sleeping soundly, Su Jianâan returned to her room.
Fireworks kept exploding outside. Su Jianâan opened the window. âBang, bangââ The sound was louder, and the cold wind of an early spring blew in with a biting edge, stinging her face.
Lu Boyan walked in and closed the window. He asked in confusion, âWhy are you so obsessed with fireworks?â
âDonât you think theyâre beautiful?â Su Jianâan raised her head and seemed addicted to the fireworks in the sky.
Lu Boyan did not reply. He walked aside and made a phone call in a low voice.
Su Jianâan could not hear what Lu Boyan said. She wondered, âYou have work?â
âNo,â Lu Boyan directly denied it. âItâs something else.â
Su Jianâan became even more curious and asked, âSo mysterious. What is it?â
Lu Boyan caressed Su Jianâanâs hair and said, âYou will know soon.â After that, he took a pair of pyjamas and walked to the bathroom.
The bathroom door was quickly closed, stopping Su Jianâan from asking any more questions. She pursed her lips and walked around the room, finding nothing special.
Finally, her eyes focused on a bag.
Lu Boyanâs gifts were in it.
Su Jianâan wanted to open it in the car when she received it. But she gave up the idea after being irritated by Lu Boyan.
Now, she was very curious about the jewelry Lu Boyan had picked for her.
Thinking about that, Su Jianâan opened the bag and found two boxes inside which were printed with the same brand logos.
One of them carried an elegant watch with a black strap.
Su Jianâan preferred watches to luxury jewelry. In the past, Su Yicheng would give her watches as birthday gifts when he had no idea what else to give. Watches were always pleasant surprises for her.
Lu Boyan also knew that she liked watches. Every time when the brands she liked launched new models, he would buy them for her.
This watch was also the latest model of the brand.
Therefore, the item in the other box was what Lu Boyan really wanted to give her.
Su Jianâan opened that box. As expected, it was a piece of jewelry.
It was a simple-style necklace that she liked. It was not luxurious, instead, it was thin and had a classic look.
Even if Su Jianâan was not so fond of jewelry, she couldnât help taking it out and placing it on her collarbones.
When Lu Boyan came out of the bathroom, he saw Su Jianâan trying on the necklace in front of the mirror.
He came up behind her and helped her put on the necklace. He bent down, put his chin on her shoulder and asked in a low voice, âDo you like it?â
Su Jianâan nodded and praised, âItâs very beautiful. I like it! So, you donât have to make it up to me now!â
If she hadnât mentioned it, Lu Boyan would have forgotten what he said in the car.
However, since Su Jianâan brought it up â
âJianâan...â Lu Boyan turned his head and whispered gently in Su Jianâanâs ear, letting out a warm breath.
Su Jianâan could not stand Lu Boyanâs teasing, and her face suddenly turned red.
Unfortunately, Lu Boyanâs mobile phone rang at this time. He received a new message.
Lu Boyan remembered something. He checked the message and took Su Jianâanâs hand, saying, âLetâs go.â
âTo where?â Su Jianâan was stunned and looked at Lu Boyan with an odd expression.
Lu Boyan scrutinized Su Jianâanâs face for a moment and smiled, âDonât worry, itâs definitely not what you think.â
Su Jianâan was speechless.