TSIAGBICATMWI Chapter 175

Chapter 175 New Year’s Eve

Chapter 175 New Year’s Eve

Many hands make light work. Before long, everyone had decorated the originally simple and quiet little courtyard with festive colors.

The sun rose high, and colorful halos surrounded it. Patches of light dotted the snow. Gu Tangyue, looking at the branches shining in the sunlight, tightened her large cotton-padded coat and muttered, “Why does this sun only shine and not warm? It’s been shining for so long, and it’s already noon, but not a single drop of snow has melted.”

Luo Shuyou, hearing this, also looked up at the cloudless sky and murmured, “Really?” He thought he was just not feeling it.

Gu Tangyue wailed, “No way, am I the only one freezing? This is unfair! Why treat a girl like me this way? Waaah~ I’m a delicate little girl!”

Luo Shuyou instantly tossed the White Tiger Cub in his arms into Gu Tangyue’s hands. “Here, here! A fresh, furry, oversized glove. Take it, take it! You can even use it as a scarf. Just have it change to a suitable size.” Luo Shuyou quietly shook his hands, finally relieved. This little ball of fluff was getting lazier and lazier, seizing every opportunity to be carried and never coming down.

The White Tiger Cub, callously abandoned by its owner, was used to it. It wriggled its body a bit to find a comfortable position and continued to lie down. Lying anywhere was the same anyway.

The group sat around a round stone table under a pear tree in the courtyard, basking in the sun, cracking melon seeds, eating candy, and chatting leisurely. A small stove next to them simmered a pot of bubbling hot tea.

Gu Tangyue stuck her icy hands deep into the White Tiger Cub’s thick fur and rubbed them, reluctant to sit on the cold stone stool. Looking at the relaxed and content couple, she gritted her teeth and said, “Do you really have to sit in this drafty courtyard and freeze?”

Gu Tangxi glanced at her, hypocritically setting a fire to warm the stone stool in front of Gu Tangyue. Her words were sharp as always, “You’re just being dramatic. Sit down already. I’ve ‘ripened’ this stool for you. It won’t freeze you.”

Gu Tangyue reluctantly sat down and said, “Who’s like you guys, sitting in the courtyard in the dead of winter, freezing?”

Gu Tangxi said, “We’re basking in the sun and enjoying the snow scene, okay?”

Gu Tangyue glared at her and said, “So refined.”

Xu Yuzhe poured a cup of the brewed hot tea for each of them, interjecting at the right moment, “The snow scene behind the mountain is indeed quite nice.”

Gu Tangyue casually glanced back and gave her honest opinion, “Beautifully shocking, and chillingly effective.”

Gu Tangxi took a sip of hot tea, put down her cup, and said, “Why don’t we three go for a walk? It’s a rare quiet day. There won’t be such leisurely and safe times in the future.”

Gu Tangyue pouted and said, “No, I’m freezing to death. You guys go if you want. Xie YunChuan and Luo Shuyou are going to stroll in the snow, looking for plum blossoms and whispering sweet nothings. If we three go out, we’ll be three stray dogs in the frozen wasteland. You guys can be stray dogs if you want.”

Gu Tangxi was actually quite interested, mainly because she wasn’t afraid of the cold, but going alone would really make her a stray dog, a lonely stray dog at that. So, she raised an eyebrow and looked at Xu Yuzhe, asking, “Want to go? Let’s go for a stroll.”

Xu Yuzhe raised his teacup, and a small snowflake was blown off a branch by the wind and fell into the cup, melting instantly. Xu Yuzhe stared at it as it disappeared into the water without a trace, nonchalantly bringing the cup to his lips and taking a sip, saying nonsensically, “It’s cold!” No trace, no event, but not really nothing at all.

Gu Tangxi was puzzled, “If it’s cold, pour it out and get a new cup.”

Xu Yuzhe then remembered to answer Gu Tangxi’s question, smiling faintly, “I won’t go. I need to tend to the tea warming on the stove.”

His words were a polite refusal. Gu Tangxi deflated and said, “How boring. No one wants to go. What’s the point of going alone? Sigh! People just can’t be too idle. I’m so bored I want to fall in love.” She also wanted someone to accompany her in the snow until their hair turned white.

Gu Tangyue ruthlessly retorted, “You’re definitely bored out of your mind. Maybe spring is coming. Your illness is commonly known as spring fever.” The tables had turned, and when it was Gu Tangyue’s turn, she showed no mercy.

Gu Tangxi: “…!” She was indeed sick. Seeing Luo Shuyou and Xie YunChuan’s sweet romance had made her dizzy. Not everyone could have a relationship like theirs. It was one in a million. Sigh, she needed to wake up.

……

When Luo Shuyou and Xie YunChuan returned, Gu Tangxi and the others were already each doing their part to prepare the New Year’s Eve feast. Gu Tangxi was in charge of the cooking, Gu Tangyue was her assistant, washing the vegetables, and Xu Yuzhe was tending the fire.

Gu Tangyue was right. Luo Shuyou was holding a large bouquet of blooming plum blossoms, the sparse snow still clinging to them, melting away long after they entered the house.

Xie YunChuan was carrying two fish and a few small heads of bok choy. Gu Tangyue’s eyes lit up when she saw them, and she exclaimed in surprise, “Where did you guys get fresh fish and bok choy?” They were really something, quietly accomplishing great things.

Luo Shuyou asked Gu Tangyue for a vase to arrange the flowers and said with a smile, “If you walk by the river often, you’re bound to catch a fish… As for the bok choy, Xie YunChuan spotted a touch of green emerging from the vast snow.”

Gu Tangxi said cheerfully, “Shuyou, let’s not go around changing idioms, okay?”

Luo Shuyou replied with a smile, “I call it flexible application.”

Gu Tangyue nodded in approval, “Yes, you have to be so adaptable.”

After Xie YunChuan gutted and cleaned the fish, Gu Tangxi had almost finished preparing the other dishes. She was about to heat up the wok and fry a braised fish and a boiled fish, assuming that was how Xie YunChuan had prepared the two fish, one whole and one filleted.

Unexpectedly, Xie YunChuan walked to the stove and said, “I’ll make the fish.”

Gu Tangxi was stunned for quite a while, even after walking several steps away. She had always thought Xie YunChuan was on the domineering CEO path, but she didn’t expect him to be a gentle, domestic, good-man type!

A domineering CEO’s looks and strength, with a househusband’s care and thoughtfulness. Luo Shuyou had really struck gold.

Gu Tangxi realized she had nothing to do. She turned to see Luo Shuyou trimming the branches and arranging the flowers, his beautiful face more delicate than the flowers.

Gu Tangxi felt a tickle in her heart. Ugh, she still wanted to snatch Luo Shuyou, her little darling, from Xie YunChuan. Unfortunately, she was too cowardly and quietly thought about it in her heart.

Gu Tangxi went over to take a look. She didn’t offer to help, knowing that these flowers must have been a gift from Xie YunChuan, and Luo Shuyou cherished them. She just teased, “Each branch is blooming just right. The person who picked the flowers must have been very thoughtful, don’t you think, Shuyou?”

Luo Shuyou’s face was filled with a shy and happy smile, and he replied softly, “He’s always been very thoughtful.”