As the countdown to New Yearâs Eve dwindled to twelve hours, the daily routine at the Changâan venueâs directorial team continued as usual.
Gan Wenchang seemed preoccupied with heavy thoughts, sighing long and short breaths at the dinner table. After sighing three times in a row, seeing Xu Qingyan across from him eating without reacting, he couldnât help but get angry!
âWhy donât you ask me why Iâm sighing!â
âWith the number of Jie Baos youâve asked, itâs likely the date was a failure.â Xu Qingyan didnât even lift his head, eating while checking his phone, one of the few in the director team not obliged to eat the boxed meals.
Xu Qingyan was one of the creators, entitled to this privilege, though he could also proactively choose to eat boxed meals. It mainly depended on personal taste, and boxed meals werenât necessarily bad.
âHow do you know?â Gan Wenchang was astonished.
Xu Qingyan put down his chopsticks and looked at his confused face, speaking with a speechless expression.
âLast time, I saw you chatting with that girl, she asked if you were ticklish and you said no. She asked where you were most sensitive, and you said your political stance.â
âWasnât I just cautious of being led into a trap?â Gan Wenchang was slightly embarrassed, âBesides, I thought⦠that answer shouldnât be a problem.â
âItâs not a problem, both of you are pretty quirky.â Xu Qingyan looked at his phone, engaged in a verbal spar with Shen Jinyue, an exchange of wits and sarcasm.
âSigh, why is dating so difficult these days?â Gan Wenchang lost his appetite upon hearing this, âBro, I guess Iâm out of luck for the New Year, Iâll cover your shift this afternoon.â
âNo need, who celebrates New Yearâs in the afternoon?â he said.
âHuh?â Gan Wenchang turned to look at him, surprised, âArenât you going to find a girl for New Yearâs Eve? Donât tell me youâre also⦠done for? Then I will really die laughing.â
âSort of, uhâ¦â
In truth, Lin Wanzhou and Qi Ting were arriving in Changâan by evening, so Xu Qingyan was naturally expected to work as usual in the afternoon. New Yearâs wasnât all that exciting; with more people, events would be cancelled.
His lack of excitement had another layer of reason.
Pei Muchan wasnât coming.
If she had come, she would have definitely been alone. Having just kissed her a few days ago, even if nothing happened, spending New Yearâs Eve together would have advanced their relationship.
Unfortunately, she was hijacked by the dull-witted Shen Jinyue.
It wasnât that he was unhappy with Lin Wanzhouâs arrival; it was just⦠different. After all, he had the buff of being childhood sweethearts, New Yearâs⦠could be spent showing her around.
No matter what, it wasnât a day to expect getting something in return.
If it were Pei Muchan, he would have at least a few threads of desire in his mind. As for Lin Wanzhou, and in the company of Qi Ting, adding the childhood sweetheartâs pure filter.
You could say, he had no improper thoughts whatsoever.
Todayâs agenda wasâ¦
Finish work, then take the childhood sweetheart to celebrate New Yearâs Eve.
Lunch break.
Xu Qingyan habitually replied to messages before sleeping, and Pei Muchan told him she was going to have dinner with Shen Jinyue tonight, then go for a drive together.
âSheâs bringing her? Does Shen Jinyue even rate that high?â
Pei Muchan sent a smiley yellow face emoji, âDonât talk about the moon like that, constantly bickering with her, are you guys still kids?â
âAlright then.â
Putting down the phone, Xu Qingyan went to take a nap, and upon waking up, impatiently began attacking Shen Jinyueâs messages. This escalated into a shouting match, and the two of them ended up on the phone.
âAre you sick, Xu Qingyan!â
âYouâre the one whoâs sick!â
âPssh, youâre the sick one!â
In the midst of their back-and-forth, Shen Jinyue suddenly said.
âMy momâs at Sister Peiâs studio, I told her not to come. She just canât stop worrying about me, hold on a sec, Iâm going downstairs and you better not talk nonsense!â
Xu Qingyan responded with an âOk,â but did not hang up.
Presumably, Shen Jinyue was thinking about a half-time break before continuing their tussle.@@novelbin@@
He heard some rustling noises, guessing Shen Jinyue had put her phone in her pocket. Then, there were thumping sounds of going downstairs, and judging by the timing, it was about right.
When he heard her call out âMom,â Xu Qingyan originally wanted to play a prank. But that thought only flashed through his mind momentarily, and he immediately dismissed it.
He put the phone on the table and went to fetch hot water for tea.
Returning, Xu Qingyan picked up the phone to see the call was still connected. He listened for a while but heard no sound.
He tentatively called out, âShen Jinyue?â
There was no response on the other end, and Xu Qingyan thought Shen Jinyue had forgotten to hang up. So he didnât mind it and was about to hang up himself when suddenly he heard a flurry of rustling noises again.
âYou heard all that?â Shen Jinyueâs voice sounded somewhat aggrieved.
Used to sparring verbally with her, Xu Qingyan was quick to reply before his brain could catch up.
âYeah, what about itâ¦â
âDonât you dare tell anyone!â Shen Jinyue sniffled and hung up the phone.
On the other end, Xu Qingyan looked at the call log in contemplation.
What had he just overheared?
Ah well, itâs not as if it were some murderous secret. Next time they met, he could use it to scare her a bit; they probably indeed had incompatible zodiac signs.
The afternoon went by without incident.
Amid Gan Wenchangâs deep sighs and brief lamentations, the time to leave work arrived.
As Xu Qingyan was preparing to clear his desk, he took the chance to borrow a car, planning to pick someone up from the airport later. Looking up, he noticed a lingering gaze on him and inquired.
âSomething to say, spit it out?â
âDidnât you get stood up too?â Gan Wenchang wondered.
âThatâs right.â
âThen what are you doing now?â
âNew Yearâs Eve, picking up somebody.â
âA girl?â
Xu Qingyan hesitated for a moment, then held up two fingers and said.
âSort of, but itâs two of them.â
âWow, you are truly a beast.â Gan Wenchang jumped up from his workstation, âSeriously, you leave a brother here all alone, and you snag two dates?â
The situation wasnât quite what Gan Wenchang thought, Xu Qingyan opened his mouth, but then was too lazy to explain.
âThe more you explain, the dirtier it seems, itâs just New Yearâs Eve.â
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