Chapter 34 New year

Qi Sui moved her hand away, and seeing Shen Yu's dull eyes, she smiled and said, "Sister, just accept it."

Shen Yu was confused at the moment, and seemed to have not yet reacted to what had just happened. After a moment of hesitation, she replied, "Okay."

Qi Sui's gaze moved away from her lips, pretending to be calm and said, "Next time...I will ask you first."

Shen Yu understood and lowered her head in panic, but she didn't refuse and just nodded softly.

Outside, snowflakes were flying all over the sky with the wind. In an instant, the mountains, fields, and villages were all covered with a layer of white frost. The heavy snow fell intermittently until the eve of the Spring Festival. It has been half a month since Shen Yu returned to the Shen Mansion. Looking at the hairpin in her dressing box, she realized that it's the one Qi Sui coaxed her to accept that day. She recalled the warmth on her lips that day; it seemed fake, but when she raised her finger to touch it, it felt real.

Ruo Wei brought in the cut fruits and saw that she's blushing. She asked, "Miss, do you feel hot? Then I won't add charcoal to the stove."

Shen Yu came back to her senses and pretended to drink tea, saying, "That's good."

"Are you sleepy, Miss? Eat some fruit to wake you up." Ruo Wei handed the fruit to her.

Tonight is New Year's Eve, and Shen Yu, Shen Shu and Shen Jin are going to stay up all night. She got up too early today and was feeling a little sleepy, so she ate a few pieces of fruit that Qi Sui had planted not long ago.

---------

A few days before returning home, she collected several baskets and hurriedly sent them to the farm, saying, "You should be the first to taste the newly planted fruits."

Shen Yu saw that these fruits were round and full, but they were covered with brown hairs, which made them very rough to the touch. She asked, "What kind of fruits are these?""

Qi Sui was peeling several for her with a knife, putting them in a bowl and handing them to her, saying, "These are called kiwis."

Shen Yu scooped them up with a spoon. As he ate it, the sweet and sour juice was very novel to her. She widened her eyes slightly and said, "It's green and delicious, but the aftertaste is sweet."

"It tastes good, right?" Qi Sui smiled foolishly.

Shen Yu nodded, pointed to the baskets of kiwis in front of her and said, "Do you want to sell them?"

"I won't sell these. There are still many in the orchard." Qi Sui shook her head and said, "I'll sent them to you to take back home, It's counted as a little meeting gift."

Shen Yu pinched the bowl with her fingers and said softly, "Yeah, they must like it too."

"It's okay if they don't like it, I can grow something else."

----------

There was another round of gongs and drums, and Shen Yu came to her senses, the maid outside the house said, "Miss, they are setting off firecrackers outside, do you want to go?"

She's very tired today and didn't want to be outside in the wind, but when she saw the excitement hidden in the maid's eyes, she smiled and said: "I just happen to be a little sleepy, let's go out and play."

Shen Jin was beside Shen Shu, covering her ears and watching him light firecrackers, but because of the wind, the flames were always erratic and the fuse couldn't be lit easily. She felt a little impatient and said: "Brother, can you really light it?"

Shen Shu blew on the fire stick, "Just wait a little longer, it will be lit soon." He brought it closer this time and finally lit the fuse. Shen Jin hurriedly pulled him back. Soon there's a burst of crackling firecrackers. Shen Yu was startled when she came out and quickly covered her ears. The air was filled with thick white smoke. After a while, the sound of firecrackers finally stopped. When Shen Jin saw Shen Yu, she walked over and took her hand, saying, "Sister finally decided to go out and play. Our eldest Brother is clumsy and can't light firecrackers well."

Shen Shu was tying firecrackers, glanced at Shen Yu, and said, "Don't catch a cold, third sister."

"I brought an extra cloak, please put it on, sister." Shen Jin asked the maid to bring it and put it on Shen Yu.

Shen Yu did not refuse and smiled, "Thank you, Fourth Sister."

"Since I gave you the cloak, you have to play with me." Shen Jin pulled her to the street and said, "Nuo Opera is starting, we have to hurry."

Seeing this, Shen Shu had no choice but to follow as well.

Lanterns were hung high in every household, and the streets were filled with the sounds of firecrackers and gongs. Amid the hustle and bustle, Shen Yu seemed to catch a glimpse of a familiar figure. She looked anxiously to see who that person was, but Shen Jin held her back and said, "Sister, don't get separated from us."

How could it be such a coincidence? Shen Yu had to give up the idea and continued to follow the Nuo opera troupe with Shen Jin.

It's Qi Sui's first time to celebrate the Spring Festival in ancient times. There were so many new things that she felt dazzled. Qiuyun took her around everywhere, There were many vendors on the street, some selling Nuo masks. Qi Sui picked up a ghost mask and put it on, which scared Qiuyun so much that she screamed. She thought it's fun so she bought it and followed Haodang all the way where The Nuo opera team as walking.

The mask was too big, and Qi Sui's vision was blocked. As she lowered her head to talk to Qiu Yun, she caught a glimpse of a hairpin out of the corner of her eye, which seemed to be the hairpin Shen Yu often wore. She paused and took off her mask to look, but found that she was gone. "Maybe I saw it wrong."

Qiuyun felt puzzled by her behavior and asked, "What are you looking for?"

"A young lady i know." Qi Sui considered her words carefully.

Qiuyun immediately understood and smiled secretly: "I know, it's the girl the miss likes."

"How do you know?" Qi Sui was surprised.

"My mother said so."

"Did Mother Song recognize her?"

Qiuyun smiled and said, "No, but the girl can't hide the truth."

Qi Sui breathed a sigh of relief, put on the mask again, and took away the sugar cake from her hand, saying, "You know too much, I won't give it to you."

Qiu Yun smiled innocently and said, "Miss, eat it. I'll go buy some more."

"You are so stupid." Qi Sui returned the candy cake to her, "How can I really take it from you if i'm just teasing you?"

System: "Host, you really did just snatch it from her."

Qi Sui pretended not to hear, "Ah? What did you say? My voice is It's too loud, I can't hear you clearly."

System: ······

Shen Yu rarely plays outside the mansion for so long, and was still being dragged away by Shen Jin. Maybe because she's in a hurry so she felt a little tired, so she said: "Sister, let's walk slower."

Shen Shu was carrying large and small bags of things that Shen Jin had bought along the street, and he also advised: "Sister, take a break too."

Shen Jin kept pulling her forward and say: "There are many people releasing lanterns by the river, and there will be dragon boats on the river. There is also a teahouse over there, I have already asked someone to go there, you can just sit there and we will do those first."

Shen Yu had no choice but to cheer up and continue walking with her. The three of them finally reached the river. Unexpectedly, there were more people here than on the street. Everyone was in groups, making an appointment to release lanterns together. Shen Shu first sent Shen Yu to the private room by the window on the second floor of the teahouse and said, "It's too noisy outside. If you like quiet time, wait for us here. We will come back after we put up the lanterns."

Shen Yu nodded and waited for him to leave, the maids around her couldn't help looking out the window, she whispered: "You guys go play too, I'm fine here."

The maids looked at each other, not daring to really go, Shen Yu said again: "You guys usually stay in the mansion, so we should have fun on New Year's Eve."

"Thank you, young lady, we will be back soon." The maids happily ran out holding hands.

Shen Yu finally got a moment's rest. At this time, a sharp roar sounded in the sky, and a beam of white light shot straight up, then burst into a brilliant light.

"It's actually fireworks!" Qi Sui said in shock, pointing at the sky and looking at QiuYun.

Qiuyun felt strange and said, "Miss, why do you say it as if it's the first time you're seeing it?"

Qi Sui was stunned, but fortunately she was wearing a mask so her expression couldn't be seen. She made up an excuse to get away with it.

"Miss, there are lanterns being released by the river. Should we buy some too?" Qiuyun looked towards another place excitedly.

Qi Sui quickly agreed. As she had never played before, the two of them squeezed into the crowd and tried their best to buy two.

She gave Qiuyun one and asked, "How many wishes can be written on a lantern?"

"Any number will do. Sincere wishes will come true."

The lantern is similar to the modern wishing lamp. It has the meaning of praying for peace, ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters. Qi Sui picked up the pen, writing crookedly, and silently chanted in her heart: "I wish that the people around the original owner will be safe and smooth; I wish that my grandmother will be healthy and free of illness and pain; I wish that Shen Yu..."

She paused for a moment, the ink from the pen hitting the paper, before she wrote the last few words. The lanterns slowly floated up into the sky. Qi Sui looked up, her eyes following them all the time.

hen Yu leaned against the window, her eyes down, and a lantern not far away slowly rose. Because of the wind, the lantern could be seen clearly on all sides, and she saw her name. The handwriting was illegible and looked familiar, like someone else's. She recognized it as Qi Sui's at a glance.

Upstairs, Shen Yu whispered: "I wish Shen Yu a long life, and spring will come every year."

Downstairs, Qi Sui prayed privately: "Shen Yu can like me a little more."

After reading that line, She instinctively looked into the crowd, trying to find Qi Sui. She hurried downstairs, very sure in her heart that she must be here.

At this time, the Nuo opera team came nearby, and a large number of people rushed over. As everyone pushed and shoved, Shen Yu was pushed by someone and suddenly fell backwards. Just when she thought she was going to fall, someone behind her stepped forward to hold and steadily her.

There's a vague voice in her ear, asking, "Young lady, are you looking for me?"

Shen Yu was frightened and stunned for a moment  and then struggled to break free from the hand behind her, but she accidentally knocked the person's mask away when she swung her arm. When she saw the face of the person in front of her clearly, she froze in place, It's Qi Sui.

Seeing her frightened look, Qi Sui laughed: "It seems that this mask is really scary." She picked up the mask that fell on the ground, covered her face with it, and changed her voice: "Young lady, are you looking for me?"

Shen Yu slowly approached her, put her arms around her waist, put her face on her shoulder, and said, "Yes, I'm looking for you."

All this was without warning. Qi Sui's heartbeat missed a beat, and she tried her best to restrain her emotions that were about to get out of control. She tried her best to control her voice smoothly: "Shen Yu, raise your head."

Shen Yu raised her head and looked at her, with the mask still on her face.

"I'll hug you now." Qi Sui put her arms around her shoulders, gently leaned her head on them, and whispered, "Thank you for finding me."

Shen Yu couldn't touch her face because of the mask so she just said softly: "Qi Sui, I want to stay."

The fireworks soared into the sky and bloomed quickly. The huge noise swallowed her words. Qi Sui didn't hear clearly, so she leaned close to her ear and asked: "What did you say just now?"

Shen Yu held her face and turned to the other side. She took off her mask and smiled brightly: "Fireworks are short, but We're going to go on for years and years and years."