EAY Chapter 53

Buying New Year’s Goods

Buying New Year’s Goods

53

The next morning, Shi Ran had just gotten up when he heard a knock on the door. He opened it to find Qi Ye standing there with a smile, gesturing to the breakfast he was carrying.

“You didn’t even say anything.” Shi Ran was naturally happy to see the person he liked first thing in the morning, but he still said in a slightly arrogant tone, “Are you planning to cultivate my bad habits again?”

“What do you mean?”

“Making me look forward to you coming every morning.”

“That’s good, then I’ll come every day from now on.”

“Forget it, if you come every day, my grandpa will start to suspect something, though he probably wouldn’t think it’s about romance. He’d just think you’re being threatened by me.” Shi Ran chuckled, stepping aside to let him in.

Qi Ye put the breakfast on the table, having bought three portions. He said softly, “Grandpa isn’t up yet, is he?”

“Yeah, he listened to my dad rambling a lot here yesterday, so he went to sleep too late.”

Qi Ye noticed the faint dark circles under his eyes and couldn’t help but reach out and touch them. “You didn’t sleep well either. Go back to sleep for a bit after breakfast.”

“I’m alright. I have things to do after breakfast.”

“What are you doing?”

“Buying New Year’s goods.” Shi Ran said matter-of-factly.

Qi Ye looked at him with a smile. “Do you even know what to buy?”

“There’s no fixed standard for that. You buy according to your circumstances, right? Every family is different.” Shi Ran sat down and took a bite of a steamed bun, swallowing it before counting on his fingers. “Putting everything else aside, our family needs couplets, firecrackers, flowers, and food. Those four things are a must.”

Qi Ye opened the plastic lid of the porridge, placed a spoon in it, and pushed it in front of him. “So you actually know what to do.”

“What’s so strange about that? I go with Grandpa every year. Didn’t you know?” Shi Ran retorted.

Qi Ye said a little sheepishly, “My family has a lot of stuff, so basically, I’m in charge of the heavy lifting. Apart from food, where I can offer some suggestions, my dad doesn’t listen to me for anything else.”

Shi Ran clicked his tongue. “What a lucky kid, only having to worry about food.”

Qi Ye smiled, then suddenly said, “Then I’ll go with you today and be your porter.”

“But it’s almost the New Year. Won’t your family be busy?”

“My family has almost finished buying everything for the New Year, and we’ve cleaned the house too. So everyone in my family is free now. My parents went out to see friends, and Qi Xue is busy with gatherings all day. So, I came to find my boy, friend.” Qi Ye’s voice was very low as he said the last part, and he felt a little shy afterwards, so he pretended to be calm and rubbed the back of his neck. “Anyway, they said that we should each maintain our own relationships and not interfere with each other.”

“That’s good, that’s good.” Shi Ran nodded with a smile. The more he interacted with Qi Ye, the more he felt that his family was wonderful. They had a warm yet independent family atmosphere. The family members usually cared about each other, like how they were concerned when Qi Ye finally made a friend, but they would never interfere with their relationship.

Qi Ye said softly, “Also, I was originally planning to ask you out today. It’s great to take advantage of the festive atmosphere of the New Year.”

Shi Ran chuckled and said casually, “Our first date is going to be buying New Year’s goods? That’s too much like an old married couple.”

As soon as he finished speaking, they heard the sound of the door handle turning from Grandpa’s room. The two boys were startled and quickly sat up straight, maintaining a safe social distance between them.

When the old man slowly walked out with his crutch, the two tacitly raised their heads to greet him. Qi Ye got up and said, “Good morning, Grandpa.”

“Oh, Xiao Qi’s here.” Grandpa Shi smiled when he saw Qi Ye, nodding affectionately.

Shi Ran said, “He bought breakfast for you.”

“Oh, you didn’t need to buy it. Our house is very close to that breakfast shop. Shi Ran should have gone to buy it. Shi Ran, you have to transfer the money for the breakfast to Xiao Qi later.”

“Okay.” Shi Ran nodded.

Qi Ye quickly said, “No need, Grandpa. I was just doing morning exercises and bought it on the way. Besides, my family isn’t home today, and I didn’t want to eat breakfast alone, so I came over.”

Shi Ran said, “He even said he’s going to accompany me to buy New Year’s goods later.”

Grandpa Shi started to be polite again. “Oh, I’m so sorry to trouble you—”

“Don’t be so polite, we young people don’t like that stuff.” Shi Ran said, “If you really want to thank him, then hurry up and take care of your health and make a few more of your specialties for him to eat.”

“Alright, when I get better, I’ll let Xiao Qi order whatever he wants, and I’ll make it.” Grandpa Shi said generously.

After breakfast, Qi Ye and Shi Ran set off. While they were in the car, Shi Ran took out a handwritten list to look at. Qi Ye glanced at it and saw that there were quite a few items. He teased, “Your handwriting has improved.”

Shi Ran knew that his handwriting was terrible and nudged him. “Are you deliberately making fun of me?”

“No, it used to be so scribbled that I couldn’t even read what you wrote. Now, at least, I can read it.” Qi Ye said, leaning closer to take a look. “Melon seeds, candy, mandarin oranges, beer… Haha, it’s all food.”

“Food is the main thing, and there are many kinds. The other stuff is at the bottom, look, look.” Shi Ran held the paper out to him, but Qi Ye pushed it away with a smile, taking the opportunity to grab one of his hands and place it on the seat, then covered it with his long coat.

“Are you cold?” Qi Ye asked softly, his eyes lowered.

“Yeah, a little.” Shi Ran replied a beat late, feeling the warmth of Qi Ye’s palm. His face also started to heat up, and he glanced guiltily at the driver in the front seat, hoping he hadn’t seen anything.

After the conversation ended, both of them had shy smiles on their faces. They glanced at each other, then tacitly turned their heads to look out the window.