Chapter 144

After a bout of silliness, the big and small ones finally let Lu Xuan go.

Everyone began to eat formally.

"Happy New Year, everyone!"

Lu Xuan raised his glass in celebration.

This year is a year full of hope.

Good things keep happening, and joy is at the door.

It's worth celebrating!

Everyone raised their glasses together: "Happy New Year, cheers to Lu Xuan!"

Smiles bloomed on everyone's faces.

Whether it was Su Yao or the Xu Lan mother and daughter, they were all sincerely grateful to Lu Xuan.

Because of him, everything seemed to be getting better.

Xiao Qun Qun even stood up.

And gave Lu Xuan a heavy kiss on the face.

"Happy New Year, Lu Daddy!"

"Happy New Year to you too, Qun Qun!"

Lu Xuan's smile was bright.

Wasn't he lucky too?

Every encounter had become his most beautiful memory.

Let the various upsetting things of the past go with the wind.

"Since I'm here, I might as well stay."

Lu Xuan scanned the faces of everyone at the table.

Especially Su Yao.

These were the people in front of him who needed his heartfelt care.

"Cheers!"

"Cheers~"

Amidst the clinking of glasses, the atmosphere of the New Year became even stronger.

After the celebration, everyone focused their attention on the dining table in front of them.

Delicious dishes, perfect in color, aroma, and taste!

Xiao Qun Qun was attracted by one of the dishes.

Red, like a small, exquisite lantern.

She pointed and asked.

"What is this? It's pretty!"

Su Yao looked at Lu Xuan.

Lu Xuan made this dish, and she didn't know what it was either.

Lu Xuan smiled mysteriously.

He first gave Su Yao and Xiao Qun Qun one each.

Then he slowly explained.

"This dish is the most difficult dessert among Chinese pastries."

"Thousand-Layer Honey Date Pastry."

"Not only is it highly ornamental, but it also tastes delicious!"

Xiao Qun Qun curiously poked it with her chopsticks.

The date pastry spun around.

She counted the circles on it.

"There aren't a thousand layers though?"

Lu Xuan's mouth twitched: "Is there really fish in fish-flavored shredded pork?"

He tapped the little one's forehead.

"Don't argue, listen to me."

"Oh~"

Xiao Qun Qun nodded obediently.

Lu Xuan continued.

"The reason it's called a thousand layers is because there's a secret inside."

"Is that so?"

Su Yao broke open her date pastry.

Everyone found that there were indeed layers inside.

"Delicious!!"

On the other side, Xiao Qun Qun had already started eating.

The sweetness of the date pastry made the little one's eyes narrow into crescents.

"I like sweet things the most~"

As she spoke, she stuffed half of the date pastry into her mouth.

Her cheeks puffed up like a hamster.

Lu Xuan smiled, then urged everyone to try it quickly.

After everyone tasted it, their eyes lit up.

"Exquisite and crispy!"

"This is the best dessert I've ever eaten."

"Lu Bao! Teach me how to make this, I want to make it as a snack in the future!"

"It's still a sweet treat after all, it'll be too much if you eat too much."

Lu Xuan reached out and wiped away the crumbs from the corner of Su Yao's mouth.

Then he said with a smile, "If you want to eat it in the future, I can make it for you anytime."

"Okay okay!"

After tasting the Thousand-Layer Honey Date Pastry, Lu Xuan began to introduce the other dishes.

All of them were made by him.

Xiao Qun Qun didn't care and kept eating the date pastry.

It was too delicious.

She couldn't stop at all!

Seeing this, Lu Xuan said faintly.

"Eating too many sweet things will not only cause cavities, but also make you fat."

Su Yao: "Hey, I like to eat it too, but it's a pity I have to maintain my beautiful figure, Qun Qun, you can eat it all."

The two sang in harmony.

Xiao Qun Qun's little hand froze in mid-air.

She was still holding half a piece of date pastry.

Seeing everyone looking over, she flusteredly stuffed the date pastry into her mouth.

She mumbled, "The... the last piece!"

"Haha!"

Everyone laughed.

The New Year's Eve dinner also entered its most lively stage.

Su Yao and Qun Qun seemed to have teamed up, frantically putting food on Lu Xuan's plate.

Lu Xuan happily accepted all of it.

From time to time, he would give some pointers.

"That one, that one."

"Let's have a chopstick of this one too."

"Hmm~ Not bad, not bad."

It wasn't until the two women couldn't put any more food on his plate that he smiled.

"Barely half full."

He had exerted a lot of energy today, so he could eat.

Su Yao shook her arm and glared at him: "Glutton!"

Xiao Qun Qun also shouted.

"Lu Daddy, how can you eat so much?"

Lu Xuan shrugged: "Who told me to be so kind-hearted? I can only eat it all up."

"I can still eat, do you want to continue?"

"Shameless!"

The two women were no longer fooled and ate on their own.

Just as Lu Xuan was about to tease them.

His phone rang.

It was a video call from Shen Ruoqiu.

After Lu Xuan answered, Shen Ruoqiu's unique soft voice came through.

"Happy New Year, Little Lu!"

"Happy New Year!"

As soon as Su Yao heard that it was her mother calling, she immediately became unhappy.

She forcefully barged into the camera and shouted.

"Mom! Why did you call Lu Bao and not me?"

"The affection between mother and daughter is fading, fading!"

In the video, Shen Ruoqiu clearly showed a look of disdain.

"It's the same who I call, anyway, you two must be together."

"That's right!"

Su Yao was no longer angry.

She happily picked up a piece of date pastry and shook it in front of the camera as if showing off.

"Mom! Come on, ah~"

"Lu Bao made this himself! It's so delicious!"

"Scram!"

Shen Ruoqiu glared at her daughter.

Then, she continued.

"Your dad and I are busy, so we won't be with you this year."

"But with Little Lu around, I guess you don't need us anyway."

Su Yao immediately nodded: "That's true."

Shen Ruoqiu's chest hurt from anger.

She didn't want to pay any attention to this married-out daughter at all.

Su Yao smiled playfully, knowing that her mother was worried about her, and stopped teasing her.

Instead, she tapped the screen lightly to turn the camera around.

She said, "This year, not only do I have Lu Bao and Aunt Liu with me."

"I also have Sister Xu and Xiao Qun Qun!"

"It's so lively!"

"Happy New Year."

Xu Lan and Xiao Qun Qun said to Shen Ruoqiu together.

Shen Ruoqiu responded with a smile.

Now she was relieved.

After chatting for a few more sentences, she hung up the phone.

"Your dad called me, I'm going to be busy."

"Oh right, Little Lu, I've already written half of your *White Night Walk*, there are some details I want to discuss with you when I have time."

"No problem!"

Lu Xuan agreed with a smile.

"Mom, I..."

Su Yao wanted to say something, but the phone screen went black.

The other party had hung up.

Su Yao: "......"

She pouted angrily: "Really, she hangs up so quickly every time! I haven't finished speaking yet!"

"Haha!"

Lu Xuan couldn't help but laugh.

Over the next period of time, calls came in one after another.

They were all wishing Lu Xuan a Happy New Year.

Lu Xuan responded one by one.

At the same time, there were countless New Year's greetings on WeChat.

None of them were mass-sent.

They were all sent by familiar actors and directors.

Lu Xuan planned to reply to these messages carefully when he was free.

By the time Lu Xuan finished making calls, everyone had finished eating.

Together with Xiao Qun Qun, they cleaned up the dining table.

Then they sat on the sofa.

They looked out the window tacitly.

In previous years, it was already a battlefield outside at this time.

The smell of gunpowder, mixed with the flavor of the New Year, appeared together in the air, stirring up people's memories.

However, this year, the sound of firecrackers was delayed.

"......"

Xiao Qun Qun was a little disappointed.

There wouldn't be any pretty fireworks to watch again this year!

The adults also looked at each other, feeling like something was missing.

Just then.

A burst of crackling sounds came from outside.

The sound was a bit muffled.

Xiao Qun Qun immediately smiled happily and clapped her hands in surprise.

"They're setting off firecrackers~ They're setting off firecrackers!"

Lu Xuan carefully distinguished and recognized that it should be the sound of electronic firecrackers.

However, it was still the sound of firecrackers!

He and Su Yao and others smiled at each other.

"Happy New Year!"