DF Chapter 69
by VolareThis year’s New Year was probably the most festive Sheng Jia had ever experienced.
Her memories of many previous years were blurry, mostly consisting of her locking herself in her room, spacing out by the window. Fireworks would bloom in the dark night sky, deafeningly loud, while outside her door, Sheng Huaiying might be watching TV, or there would be only silence.
The earlier years, before Wang Jian was driven out of the house by an enraged Sheng Huaiying, were not worth remembering.
Those memories were just a gray blur in her mind, but now, Sheng Huaiying, wearing an apron, cheerfully carried dish after dish to the table. It was a colorful and vivid scene, the steaming food filling the air with a warm fragrance. All of this seemed to cover up the pain she had been too lazy to recall, as if everything was coated in amber-colored honey.
“Last dish, all set.” Sheng Huaiying took out her phone to take a picture of the dishes, and said with a smile, “Gotta post this on WeChat.”
Sheng Huaiying, who used to just drift along, had somehow rediscovered the joy of life, and her WeChat Moments had become much more vibrant recently.
Sheng Jia covered her face and said softly, “I’ll stay out of the picture.”
Sheng Huaiying nodded, capturing Sheng Jia’s hand, the table full of food, and her own beaming face in the photo.
After taking the picture, she took out a red envelope from her pocket and handed it to Sheng Jia, “This year’s red envelope.”
Sheng Jia took it, surprised by its weight. She opened it under Sheng Huaiying’s eager gaze and found a safety amulet and eight hundred yuan in cash.
“You said you wanted to go to Southeast Asia a few days ago, so I went to the temple to get this for you. I regret not getting it for you sooner,” Sheng Huaiying said, a little shyly, as she pursed her lips under her daughter’s gaze. “Mom got a pretty good year-end bonus this year, so I wanted to give you a big red envelope.”
Sheng Jia rubbed the matte surface of the red envelope and looked at Sheng Huaiying seriously, “Thank you, Mom.”
Sheng Huaiying was slightly stunned, feeling a wave of tenderness wash over her. Her eyes involuntarily turned red, and she wiped the corners of her eyes with her knuckles, saying softly, “What are you thanking Mom for?”
The two of them slowly finished their meal, a rare harmonious and leisurely meal. Sheng Huaiying occasionally chatted with her colleagues on her phone, grabbing red envelopes, and Sheng Jia’s phone kept ringing as well. She had made so many new friends last year. Not to mention Song Ji’an, Xu Lijing, Su Zhaolin, and Song Yi, even Dong Zhen, Hong Yue, and Meng Yeran had sent her New Year’s greetings.
Sheng Jia replied to each message one by one, when she suddenly received a video call from Song Ji’an.
She was slightly stunned, glanced at Sheng Huaiying, who was sitting on the sofa holding her phone, waiting for the factory’s second big red envelope, and hurried to the balcony to answer the call.
“Sheng Jia!” The first thing that came into view was Song Ji’an’s red nose.
The winter in Jingjiang was probably around minus ten degrees Celsius outside. She was wrapped in a thick down jacket, wearing a fluffy white hat, and waving her gloved hands, which were so thick that they looked like the protective gloves used for baking cakes. She smiled and said to her, “I’m downstairs at your house. Want to come down and set off fireworks? I bought sparklers.”
There were also a few familiar voices speaking with her.
“Sheng Jia, come down and play,” Xu Lijing said loudly, “We haven’t seen each other in so long, why not come down while it’s New Year’s!”
“We won’t be able to see Song Yi this year,” Su Zhaolin also said, “She’s going to take the art exam in the second half of the year, so she’ll probably only be at school for the last month.”
Their voices almost drowned out the clamor of the fireworks outside.
“Su Zhaolin? Did your sister let you out?” Sheng Jia asked in surprise.
“My sister isn’t the same as before,” Su Zhaolin said with a grin, “Now she’s okay with me and Ji’an hanging out.”
Song Yi pointed the phone camera at herself, “Sheng Jia, are you coming down or not? We’re going to run out of sparklers soon.”
Sheng Jia leaned against the windowsill, and she could see the four figures frolicking in the snow behind her house from a distance. She propped her chin up with her hand, a rare hint of laziness on her face, “I don’t think I have the power to refuse.”
“Of course not,” Xu Lijing raised her chin, “Our goal tonight is to build four big snowmen in your yard.”
“Okay, I’ll be down in a bit.” Before hanging up, Sheng Jia made eye contact with Song Ji’an across the screen, who hadn’t said a word since the beginning of the call. She saw the smile on Song Ji’an’s lips.
She knew this idea must have been hers.
Back in the warm living room, Sheng Huaiying poked her head out from behind the sofa and smiled at her, “Your classmates came to see you?”
The soundproofing in the house wasn’t great, as Sheng Huaiying knew. Sheng Jia, like her, had been overly indifferent to life and had no friends. Now, seeing that she had so many friends, she was genuinely happy for her.
“Yes,” Sheng Jia nodded, “They want me to go down and build snowmen with them.”
“Okay.” Sheng Huaiying glanced at the Spring Festival Gala being broadcast on TV and waved her hand, “Go ahead, go play with your friends.”
Sheng Jia changed her clothes and went downstairs.
The cold air made her shiver. Leaving the warmth, she felt as if she was being soaked in snow. But the snow in the north was granular and didn’t melt. Walking against the biting wind, she saw Song Ji’an standing under the streetlight, her face flushed red from the cold.
Xu Lijing and the others were wrestling behind her. She gave Sheng Jia an extremely bright smile, just like she had so many times in the past, and jogged over to walk beside Sheng Jia.
“You’re finally here,” Song Ji’an stroked Sheng Jia’s neck with her thick gloves, “Aren’t you cold without a scarf?”
Sheng Jia raised her chin, showing her the turtleneck sweater she was wearing.
For many years, she had been used to walking in this kind of cold. Wearing too many layers would make it harder to work, so she had become accustomed to not wearing so much in the winter.
But Song Ji’an’s gloves had probably just touched the snow, and they were a little cold, causing Sheng Jia to shiver.
“The winter in Jingjiang is too cold. It’s by the sea, but it feels even colder than inland. I wore two scarves today to keep warm,” Song Ji’an complained softly beside her. “But now I can give one to you. If we have a snowball fight later, Xu Lijing and the others will definitely stuff snow down your collar. A sweater can’t protect you.”
As she spoke, she clumsily took off the soft scarf that was wrapped around her neck, circle after circle, and handed it to Sheng Jia.
Sheng Jia took it. It still had Song Ji’an’s body temperature. She didn’t resist and wrapped it around her neck, circle after circle, using Song Ji’an’s method. Song Ji’an’s scent enveloped her, forcing its way into her nostrils.
It was a very elegant citrus scent, radiating a warmth that was completely opposite to the snowy ground.
A snowball suddenly hit Sheng Jia in the face, and Su Zhaolin and Xu Lijing laughed.
“Xu Lijing, your aim is terrible!” Su Zhaolin gloated, “You hit Sheng Jia. Sheng Jia, come team up with me to punish her.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Xu Lijing explained, “It’s all Su Zhaolin’s fault for dodging. How was I supposed to know you were behind her!”
The response to her was a snowball thrown by Sheng Jia, which hit Xu Lijing right in the neck.
“Okay, Sheng Jia! You didn’t even give me a chance to explain,” Xu Lijing was frozen by the snow that had gotten into her clothes, so she simply laughed and pounced on her. “You still want to punish me with Su Zhaolin! I’ll punish you first.”
Sheng Jia was caught off guard and was pushed straight into the snow. Before falling, she grabbed the corner of Song Ji’an’s clothes, causing Song Ji’an to lose her balance and fall into the snow as well. The three of them fell into a heap.
“Xu Lijing,” Song Ji’an scolded with a smile, “It’s not enough that you added Sheng Jia as an opponent, you want to add me too?”
“I didn’t make you fall. Why aren’t you blaming Sheng Jia? Why are you blaming me?” Xu Lijing said in disbelief.
But she had already been pinned to the ground by Sheng Jia and Song Ji’an. The three of them wrestled together, and Su Zhaolin and Song Yi simply joined in, too. The snow on the ground was thrown high, making it almost impossible to see the figures inside, until someone shouted from beside the window, “What are you kids doing here? Don’t you have a New Year to celebrate?”
“Auntie, we’ll go home after we play for a while. Happy New Year!” Xu Lijing also shouted back.
The aunt just smiled, then left a sentence, “Go home early, don’t catch a cold.” and closed the window.
The group, tired from all the commotion, lay in the snow, too lazy to move. Song Yi rested one leg on top of the other, supporting the back of her head with her glove, and said with a smile, “Do you know that auntie?”
“No,” Xu Lijing said matter-of-factly, “But it’s New Year’s. If you’re sweet, the aunties will be happy and will only want to know if we’re cold.”
Hearing this, Song Ji’an sat up from the ground. She glanced at her watch, “It’s ten o’clock. Let’s quickly finish setting off the sparklers. Auntie Liu will be here to pick us up soon.”
Su Zhaolin was still lying on the ground, panting. Her physical strength was the worst of the five, and she had become breathless after all the fighting. Song Yi helped her up and handed her a pile of sparklers.
These were also prepared by Auntie Liu, but she had prepared too many, a whole box, and now there was still half a box left.
“Didn’t Song Ningqiu come home today?” Sheng Jia asked, standing next to Song Ji’an.
“My mom has something to do today, she’s still in Northern Europe.” Song Ji’an lowered her eyes and looked at the sparkler in her hand. The flickering light was reflected in her eyes, but it made her seem a little lonely. But this loneliness didn’t last long, and she quickly pulled herself together and said with a smile, “But she’ll be back tomorrow, so I came to play with you today while she’s not here.”
“Is there any special meaning to sparklers?” Sheng Jia also held a sparkler in her hand, which emitted a white light. It had no warmth when held in the hand, and even the handle quickly became stiff from contact with the air.
“Actually, there’s no special meaning. I just want to finish setting off the rest so they don’t go to waste.” Song Ji’an placed her sparkler on the snowman they had built, which had been ruined by their fighting. “The internet says that you can make wishes with sparklers, that they can bring people luck, but I don’t really believe it.”
She had always believed that people’s fate should be in their own hands. She didn’t trust the blessing of any mysterious power.
“I can see that you’re very satisfied with your current life,” Sheng Jia placed her sparkler on the other hand of the snowman. “Only someone with a rich enough spirit can be so firm.”
She said this very calmly and admiringly.
“Not necessarily,” Song Ji’an smiled, “There won’t really be anyone in this world whose desires are completely satisfied. Everyone will always have something to pursue. I’m the same.”
“I wouldn’t dare say that my spirit is rich enough, but it’s true that I’m satisfied with my current life. I have friends, family, and confidants. I’ve already planned out my path and I’m ready to work hard to achieve it.”
Sheng Jia tilted her head and watched her draw a circle in the snow, sticking many sparklers into the snow. Su Zhaolin ran over and put her arm around her shoulder, “What are you two whispering about? Let’s make wishes.”
“Sparklers and fireworks should be set off with New Year’s wishes. My sister says that wishing at this time every year is the most effective.”
Song Ji’an didn’t tell Su Zhaolin about her conversation with Sheng Jia. Instead, she nodded very indulgently, “Okay.”
So Sheng Jia squatted down beside her. After Su Zhaolin left, she saw Song Ji’an whispering something to the sparklers, clearly making a wish.
Of course, she understood why.
This kind of disbelief wasn’t suitable to say among friends who were having fun, it would only be a buzzkill. But Sheng Jia and Song Ji’an’s minds were so similar that they could talk about anything without any taboos, making it their separate secret.
So she didn’t ask why, she just said, “What did you wish for?”
“Me?” Song Ji’an’s eyes sparkled, and she said softly, “I hope that I and my friends can always be happy.”
“Although sparklers can’t do it, I think I’ll work hard to make it happen myself.”
Sheng Jia met her gaze and saw herself in her eyes.
The sparkler beside her burned out. She opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn’t say the words that were about to spill out from her heart.
–If one day, someone deprives you of all your happiness, can you still do it?
If one day, the sun, which always shines, itself dims, can she still illuminate everything she loves around her?