The Chinese team spent quite a bit of time restoring the ruins in Country H, and when Chu Qianli finally returned to the He family’s villa, the country had already entered a snow-clad winter.
Fine snowflakes drifted down, and the streets were decked out with bright lanterns and colorful decorations — it was the Spring Festival, a time for family reunions.
Chu Qianli’s return from Country H brought a lively cheer to the He household. The whole family was happy that her work had concluded, and even Second Uncle He Yuanyang came over to join in the celebration.
Having been away from home for a long time, Chu Qianli was swept up in the festive atmosphere. Her mood grew light and joyful, and she greeted each person she met with a sweet New Year blessing:
“Dad, Mom, Happy Spring Festival! I wish you good health, all the best, a happy mood every day, and wonderful years ahead!”
He Zhenghe clapped his hands in delight. “Very good, very good!”
Yu Xin, smiling, handed her a red envelope while replying, “Thank you, Qianli.”
Chu Qianli happily accepted the red envelope, then turned to greet her second uncle, speaking fluently with auspicious words:
“Second Uncle, Happy Spring Festival! I wish you happiness, prosperity, longevity, joy, good health, and an even more brilliant career!”
“From your lips to Heaven’s ears, thank you!” He Yuanyang pulled out a red envelope for her, then looked over toward the man on the sofa and teased, “Shichen, when you go to get a red envelope later, you’ll have to say something too, you know?”
“Thanks, but I’ll choose not to take one,” He Shichen said calmly. “I’m already an adult.”
He Shichen would never allow himself to behave in the sycophantic, playful way Chu Qianli did. From the age of three, he had been incapable of such antics, and now that he was a university student, he could not possibly join in such childish fun.
However, Chu Qianli wouldn’t leave the “cash printer” out. After greeting all the elders, she now sought out He Shichen, bowing and saying:
“Brother, Happy Spring Festival! I wish you lots of work, lots of money, lots of hair, and lots of joy in the New Year!”
He Shichen froze at the part about “lots of hair”: “?”
When Chu Qianli finished her greeting, she looked at him expectantly, eyes bright and eager.
He Shichen gazed at her without a change in expression.
Seeing that he still didn’t move, Chu Qianli cursed inwardly at how inconsiderate he was, then softened her tone: “Brother.”
A sudden wave of goosebumps swept over He Shichen, and for some inexplicable reason, his fists itched.
When she noticed he still wasn’t reacting, she began pestering: “Brother brother brother brother brother brother brother…”
“You’re not a hen, stop clucking,” He Shichen said coldly through gritted teeth. In the end, unable to bear it any longer, he grabbed a red envelope from nearby to put an end to her nagging. “Let me have some peace.”
“Okay!” Chu Qianli took the red envelope and skipped off to her room, not even glancing back.
Watching her scoop up her loot and bolt up to the second floor, He Shichen frowned slightly and called out, “Where are you going?”
Chu Qianli brushed him off: “Oh, isn’t this the ‘peace and quiet’ my brother just paid for?”
“…”
He Shichen paused for a few seconds, then, frustrated, snapped, “Stay in the living room and watch TV with everyone! It’s the New Year!”
But Chu Qianli didn’t look back, making him so annoyed he wanted to go drag her down himself.
He Yuanyang, surprised by Shichen’s growling, asked curiously, “Shichen, is this why you insist on sitting in the living room with your laptop — so you can work while still being around for the New Year atmosphere?”
He Shichen had been sitting with his laptop, typing away as if diligently working, yet refusing to leave the noisy living room. Now it turned out he had his own way of “participating” in the Spring Festival.
“Yes, New Year’s is different,” Shichen replied.
He Yuanyang almost wanted to applaud his dedication to both work and family, but glancing at the TV, he tactfully pointed out, “Shichen, watching the Spring Festival Gala together is fine, but… this morning’s financial news doesn’t really require the whole family to watch, does it?”
He Yuanyang honestly didn’t know how Shichen had managed to find a financial program amid all the Spring Festival Gala reruns.
Shichen said evenly, “Given her kind of irrational spending habits, financial news is more useful than entertainment.”
As a finance heavyweight himself, He Yuanyang blinked in mild confusion, then said pointedly, “Are you sure financial news won’t actually inspire Qianli’s spending? After all, the scariest spending these days might be buying into funds.”
Shichen suddenly fell silent, realizing he wasn’t sure: “…”
Just moments ago, he’d been ready to go capture Chu Qianli, but now he calmly changed the channel, suddenly worried that his uncle might be right — that she’d get some bizarre ideas.
With the channel switched, the financial news disappeared, replaced by a legal affairs program. After a moment’s thought, Shichen felt uneasy and finally relented, settling on a Spring Festival Gala replay — probably the lowest-risk program.
He then began critiquing the program’s censorship, speaking calmly: “The TV station should air fewer legal shows; they might lead children astray.”
He Yuanyang said, “Legal programs are meant to teach children to obey the law.”
Shichen gave a cold laugh. “How do they know kids won’t watch them and figure out how to break the law legally?”
He Yuanyang: “?” What kind of kid learns loopholes from legal shows?
Meanwhile, inside the bedroom, Chu Qianli had shut out He Shichen’s nagging voice. Overjoyed, she sent a message to the big white bear, starting to share her day’s events.
Since coming back from Country H, it felt like nothing between them had changed — and yet, somehow, everything had.
She still thought of Tan Muxing first when something happened and would tell him about recent events. But now, she did it with an unusual sense of joy, sometimes even rolling excitedly on her bed, feeling like there was never enough time to say everything she wanted to say.
The companionship they once shared had fermented into a taste that was faintly sweet and faintly sour, making it impossible not to think of the other during idle moments. Even the most trivial, ordinary parts of daily life were washed over with shifting emotions, becoming full of interest.
In the courtyard, Tan Muxing happened to photograph a bird resting on a branch, and he instinctively sent the picture to Chu Qianli. The two of them could spend the whole day talking excitedly over something so boring — and it was absurdly addictive.
Yes, addictive. A tiny little thing could keep them talking endlessly.
After sending her message, Chu Qianli saw that Tan Muxing still hadn’t replied, so she sent greetings to Qiu Qingkong and Mei Rujing as well.
A moment later, Tan Muxing finally saw her message, but before explaining, he first transferred her a large sum of money. Only then did he offer a reason for his delay.
[Sorry, I was just getting scolded by Grandma, so I didn’t see your message.]
Staring at the huge transfer amount, Chu Qianli, startled, immediately called him, and the next moment the line connected.
“Happy Spring Festival,” Tan Muxing said gently, pausing before adding in a low voice, “Although I did say that just ten hours ago, in the middle of the night.”
The two had already spoken on the phone during the New Year’s countdown the previous night. But when Tan Muxing saw her call, he couldn’t help but smile again, as if stepping onto a soft, fluffy cloud, wrapped in a dazed happiness.
“Did you sleep well?” Tan Muxing explained honestly, “My phone just wasn’t with me.”
“Very well. But—why did Star suddenly transfer me money? You already sent me a New Year’s red envelope yesterday!”
Chu Qianli was confused by the transfer, especially since the amount was quite large — it gave her quite a shock!
“Ah, that’s from Grandma. I was scolded by her because of the red envelope…” Tan Muxing said helplessly.
Chu Qianli froze. “…Grandma wasn’t happy that you sent me a red envelope?”
Thinking of the Tan family motorcade, she felt that Star was deeply doted on by his elders, and maybe Grandma had disapproved of this gesture. Come to think of it, since Star had even followed her on adventures, perhaps the family might have some opinions.
Just as she was worrying about her image in the eyes of the Tan family — trying to think of how to cover things up (?), she realized the situation wasn’t what she imagined.
Tan Muxing said helplessly, “Yes, but she thinks I gave too little. She said I can’t be like that, and gave me a half-hour lecture right after breakfast about it.”
After coming back from Country H, Tan Muxing had mentioned Chu Qianli to his family, not bothering to hide much. His grandparents had already sensed something beforehand.
During breakfast, Yin Yin casually asked a question, and Tan Muxing answered casually — and somehow ended up poking a hornet’s nest.
Chu Qianli: “?”
Chu Qianli said, “It’s not little at all! The e-red-envelope has a set limit anyway, and it’s the thought that counts!”
Imitating Yin Yin’s tone, Tan Muxing said dully, “If she says it’s not little, you really believe it’s not little. If she says she likes the clothes you made, you really believe it. If she says she only cares about the thought, you really just give her the thought. Money first, thought second. If the red envelope has a limit, why not transfer money? If you can’t transfer it, then go give the gift in person. If you truly want to give someone money, there are always more solutions than problems…”
“…I didn’t reply to your message earlier because I was listening to all of that,” he sighed.
What he didn’t mention was that he had also stressed that Chu Qianli was not someone who loved money above all else. She just seemed to like odd, curious things — in reality, she was kind to people and had her own ideas.
Back when he was still just the chubby big white bear and hadn’t revealed his family background, their relationship had already been harmonious. He knew her nature better than anyone.
He had wanted to protect Chu Qianli’s image, but this had only provoked an even sharper rebuttal.
“Star, I’d actually prefer if she did love money above all else,” Yin Yin said solemnly. “Because our family isn’t short on money, feelings like that would be hard to change. But when she wants nothing at all, that’s when I start to panic.”
Tan Muxing: “?” What kind of poisonous chicken soup was that?
Chu Qianli sighed. “With this level of determination to stuff people with money, Grandma really does live up to being in charity work.”
Tan Muxing comforted her. “So just accept it without worry. Otherwise she’ll send me to bring gifts to your door, and might even make me show up with actual gold and silver.”
Chu Qianli muttered, “If that happened, I’d have to return the transfer.”
Tan Muxing chuckled. “So you actually prefer gold and silver?”
“That doesn’t matter. There’s still that armillary sphere in the yard — adding more would be a bit too much.”
“Then why return it?”
“Because if you brought gifts in person, I’d get to see you,” Chu Qianli said matter-of-factly. “I just want to see you.”
Hearing this, Tan Muxing’s face instantly flushed red, his heart blooming with joy as he stammered, “Th-then I’ll take the car over to see you later…”
“It’s too far, and today you should spend time with your family. The round trip would take up the whole day.”
“You can be with your family during the day, and I’ll come find you later,” Tan Muxing said thoughtfully. “I can bring you the fashion sketchbook. I won’t take too much of your time.”
Chu Qianli: “…No, no, no, I wasn’t talking about me. I meant it would take you too long to come here. Your family’s compound is really far from my place.”
The Tan family compound was in the outer suburbs, and getting there by car was troublesome. That was why she hadn’t been whining and rolling around to demand a meeting with him lately — she planned to wait until after the Spring Festival.
“It’s fine, it won’t be a waste of time,” Tan Muxing lowered his eyes and said sincerely. “Any time spent on you doesn’t count as wasted.”
Whether it was taking the car to see her or accompanying her on adventures, the time he spent wasn’t a loss — he also gained a lot from it.
His voice was very soft. “Besides, I want to see you too.”
Hearing this, Chu Qianli’s face suddenly grew hot. Controlling the flutter in her heart, she said softly, “Alright.”
“Then I’ll see you later.”
“Mhm.”
She hung up the call, then began rolling wildly around on her bed, just like a happy little bear who had fallen into a honey jar.
