Ren Mo:
Because of my brother's company affairs, it seems he made quite a lot of money. My mom asked if my brother would return to C City in the future. My brother seemed unsure, saying he wouldn't for the next few years.
Then my mom said that it was too tiring for him to manage the company alone and hoped he would come back to help. My brother told my mom to give up this idea early.
Then our Ren family lady got angry...
Looking at the message Ren Mo sent on his phone, Liu Chen could understand. For his godmother, the chain hot pot restaurant she personally established was now thriving, with annual earnings estimated to be several million, if not tens of millions.
Handing over the hot pot restaurant to her son would not only allow her lifelong work to continue developing but also give her son a high starting point, avoiding the difficulties of entrepreneurship.
However...
Ren Yu had probably not told his godmother about his company's income, otherwise...
Compared to a tech company that made tens of millions passively each year and a traditional chain hot pot restaurant that earned a few million annually, his godmother could distinguish between what was more important.
But...
Doesn't this prove that only he knew Ren Yu's true net worth now?
Thinking about this, Liu Chen suddenly felt as if he and Ren Yu shared a secret that couldn't be revealed to others.
Halfway through the drive, Liu Fang suddenly received a call from Hu Min.
"Mm, is it okay? Alright, we'll head back first then."
After hanging up, Liu Fang asked Chen Long, who was driving, to turn the car around.
"Minmin said Wang Dong can take care of her. She's finished her glucose infusion for tonight, so just send us back. If you're free, come upstairs with us to watch the Spring Festival Gala. It's just over two hours until midnight. You've been busy for so long, you deserve a good rest."
"Alright, I'll turn around."
Liu Chen sat in the back seat. Seeing his mother say "send us back" without mentioning their home address, and then the car driving onto a familiar road...
She understood...
It seemed Chen Long had taken his mother home before, otherwise, he wouldn't have driven to their residential area without asking for the address.
In the urban area of C City on New Year's Eve, most people had returned to their hometowns in surrounding counties. Only twenty to thirty percent of the lights were on, but from every lit window, the same voice of the Spring Festival Gala host Bai Yansong could be heard.
And occasionally, bursts of laughter erupted because of the skits.
Liu Chen couldn't remember the last time the three of them had celebrated New Year's Eve together. After his maternal grandmother had a stroke, his mother and aunt never seemed to find a time to celebrate the New Year together.
Either his aunt had to tutor students, or his mother had to work as a nanny and couldn't return home from her employer's house.
However, this year, the three of them seemed a bit different.
She might have a stepfather soon?
Liu Chen pondered these thoughts as she followed her mother upstairs and entered the house.
In the darkness, Liu Fang familiarized herself with the switch and pressed the main living room light.
"Click."
Warm yellow light instantly chased away the darkness in the room.
Liu Fang bent down and took a pair of brand-new men's slippers from the shoe cabinet – deep blue leather slippers, which looked new and warm.
After the two of them put on their slippers and entered, Liu Chen quietly took out her own pink leather slippers. They were leather on the outside and plush-lined on the inside. Her mother had bought them, saying that such slippers were not easily soiled and could be cleaned with a soft brush.
Now it seemed that when her mother bought them, she also bought a pair of men's slippers? Or did she specifically go out later to buy ones that matched hers and Liu Chen's?
This question was destined to remain unanswered, unless she wanted to be beaten by her exasperated mother.
Turning on the television, without even adjusting the channel, Mao Amin's "Heaven's Greatness" began to play from the speaker of the big-screen TV.
Liu Fang, while taking out three teacups from the drawer of the TV cabinet, said, "I didn't plan to celebrate the New Year at home this year, so we don't have any festive food. Fortunately, we bought some snacks. Otherwise, it would be quite strange to just sit here and watch the Spring Festival Gala!"
Chen Long didn't sit on the sofa. Instead, he walked over to Liu Fang's side, took the three teacups from her, and took them to the kitchen to wash. After washing and drying them, he didn't take the tea Liu Fang had prepared. Instead, he asked, and then found a bottle of honey from the refrigerator.
He squeezed some honey into each cup, poured in hot water, and stirred it with a spoon. He then placed it on the coffee table on a floral plastic plate and said, "Drinking tea late at night will make it hard to sleep after watching the Spring Festival Gala. Have some honey water to warm your stomach."
On the sofa, Liu Chen was engrossed in watching the Spring Festival Gala skit "Beijing Welcomes You," starring Guo Da and Cai Ming. It was about Beijing volunteers during the Olympics.
Liu Chen sat with her legs crossed on the sofa, holding a pillow on her lap, and placing her phone on the pillow, intending to play on her phone if the subsequent programs were boring.
She occasionally leaned down to take a sip of the honey water from the table and then continued to hug the pillow, laughing heartily while watching the Spring Festival Gala.
When the water reached the bottom of the cups, her mother and Chen Long took turns refilling them with hot water from the kettle placed on the side of the coffee table.
As she drank, it was time for Liu Qian's magic performance.
Liu Chen wasn't very interested in this and started playing on her phone.
On the other hand, Liu Fang, who had been acting quite reserved all evening, watched the magic performance on TV with her eyes practically glued to the screen.
"Sister Liu, do you like magic?"
Liu Fang, who was concentrating on the magic show, replied, "Mm!"
After asking this, Chen Long didn't ask further. He simply refilled Liu Fang's cup with hot water, added a spoonful of honey, and stirred it well.
As the magic show ended, the deafening sound of firecrackers began to ring out from outside. Colorful fireworks shot up from somewhere and suddenly exploded in the sky, forming a large yellow bloom. After fully burning, the bloom turned into countless tiny pink and red dots that slowly descended from the high heavens.
The first burst of fireworks seemed to trigger a switch. Within the next few minutes, wave after wave of fireworks shot up into the New Year's Eve sky, emitting bursts of colorful light.
Liu Fang and Chen Long walked to the living room balcony and looked up at the night sky, which was almost entirely filled with fireworks.
The brief bloom of each firework illuminated the night.
The firelight reflected on the faces of everyone looking up at the night sky, reflecting their lucky smiles.
Liu Chen held her phone, waiting.
Perhaps she didn't know what she was waiting for.
As the Spring Festival Gala ended and the clock struck twelve, the Nokia phone in Liu Chen's hand began to vibrate with an incoming call.
Holding the phone, she got off the sofa, put on her pink leather slippers, and quickly walked into her small bedroom, closed and locked the door, then pressed the answer button.
Fireworks bloomed across the sky outside.
Inside the room, Liu Chen heard a voice on the other end of the line say:
"Happy New Year."