AMTBYIGA Chapter 78

Chapter 78: New Year

“…”

Gu Nian nonchalantly hid the hairspray behind the sofa, pretending nothing had happened, “You’re back so soon?”

Lin Sui coughed, holding back his laughter, and nodded in agreement, “Forgot to buy something.” He looked around the house, generously praising, “The house is so clean. You’ve worked hard.”

Gu Nian reservedly “hmmed” in response, secretly raising his hand to smooth his hair.

It should look okay, right?

Lin Sui was suppressing his laughter so hard his stomach hurt, so he had to escape into the kitchen to wash vegetables and calm down.

Ahhh, Gu Nian is really too cute, Lin Sui thought, cheerfully washing the crisp bok choy, unable to stop himself from screaming in his heart.

Gu Nian had nothing to do after cleaning, so he wheeled himself to the kitchen door to watch the busy Lin Sui. As he watched, Gu Nian unconsciously raised his phone and took dozens of photos in one go.

Lin Sui was still replaying Gu Nian’s awkward appearance in his mind and didn’t notice.

Gu Nian looked down, flipping through the photos, a little disappointed that there wasn’t a camera at home. In his opinion, the phone’s lens couldn’t capture even a fraction of Lin Sui’s beauty.

But fortunately, he could see Lin Sui every day.

Gu Nian suppressed the corners of his mouth from crazily turning upwards. He wasn’t even annoyed when he was suddenly interrupted by a phone call. The tone he used when he answered could even be considered pleasant.

“What?”

“…”

“Holy crap, Nian-ge, have you been body-snatched?” Jiang Sheng said in shock, holding his phone.

“…”

Gu Nian glanced at the contact name on his phone and sneered, “Spit it out.”

Jiang Sheng breathed a sigh of relief; this was the tone he was familiar with.

“Nian-ge, we’re coming to visit you. It’s the New Year, and it’s so lonely for you and your wife to be home alone.”

Gu Nian blurted out without hesitation, “No need.”

He was about to hang up.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Jiang Sheng had anticipated this and desperately shouted into the phone, barely managing to stop Gu Nian, who didn’t want to listen anymore.

“Nian-ge, think about it. You’ll have plenty of opportunities for alone time. But New Year’s should be lively,” Jiang Sheng analyzed earnestly. “And Lin Sui seems like he likes to be around people. It’s not very festive with just the two of you in such a big house. It’ll be perfect if we spend it together and make it warm and lively. Don’t worry, we’ll leave right after midnight, and we definitely won’t delay your alone time.”

Gu Nian’s impatient expression eased. Although he was reluctant, he had to admit that Jiang Sheng made a good point.

He looked up at Lin Sui, who was humming in the kitchen. The pile of ingredients at his feet was clearly not prepared for just two people. The scales in his heart were slowly tipping.

“Get the hell out by twelve,” Gu Nian said with a dark face.

“Okay, okay, I promise we will!” Jiang Sheng breathed a sigh of relief and quickly made repeated assurances.

Lin Sui had just finished the initial preparations and curiously walked out when he saw Gu Nian hanging up the phone. “Who was it?” he asked.

“Jiang Sheng.” Gu Nian paused, tentatively saying, “They said they wanted to come and spend New Year’s with us. I was worried you’d be too tired…”

“Oh, not at all!” Lin Sui’s eyes suddenly sparkled, happy like little stars, wishing he could perform a “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” right then and there. “New Year’s is all about being lively and fun!”

Gu Nian smiled as he looked at Lin Sui’s smiling face, feeling deeply that he had made the right decision.

Having received permission, Jiang Sheng gathered a carload of people in less than an hour. Besides Jiang Sheng, Du Wanbai, and Zhou Shan, even Jun Changfeng came. Judging from Jiang Sheng’s eye-rolling reaction, he probably forced his way into the car.

Each person was carrying a huge bag filled with ingredients and various decorations. They all clearly thought that Gu Nian wouldn’t have these kinds of “nerve,” and were afraid Lin Sui would be disappointed, so they had prepared in advance.

However, as soon as they entered the villa’s courtyard, they realized they had overthought it. The entire villa, even the grass in the yard, was covered in colorful lights. When they lit up at night, it made you wonder if you’d be blinded.

“Do you like this?” Jun Changfeng asked, seeing Zhou Shan staring.

Zhou Shan cleared his throat. “It’s alright. I like it…so-so.”

Jun Changfeng smiled and nodded. “Got it.”

It seemed that they would need to prepare colored lights for the house they would live in later.

The group knocked on the door in a grand fashion, only to be greeted by Gu Nian’s expressionless face, who looked at them with a forced smile. “Welcome.”

“…Hahaha, Nian-ge, don’t scare us.” Jiang Sheng rubbed the goosebumps on his arms and tiptoed, looking behind Gu Nian for Lin Sui.

Help, the possessive old man is going to go crazy!

Gu Nian said nothing, wheeled himself inside, “Take off your shoes and come help with the cooking.”

The four people simultaneously felt a sense of relief, scrambling to squeeze inside, and then rushing into the kitchen in a swarm.

“SuiSui!” Du Wanbai charged forward, reaching the destination first, ruffled Lin Sui’s soft hair, and let out a satisfied sigh. “Long time no see, I’ve missed you so much!”

“Wanbai-jie! I miss you too!” Lin Sui looked at her in surprise, thinking that Du Wanbai would be going back to her hometown for the New Year.

Du Wanbai smiled and took out a bright red box from her bag. “Here, a birthday present!”

Lin Sui blinked, a little hesitant. “Shouldn’t this be given tomorrow…”

“Hey.” Du Wanbai winked at Gu Nian outside, lowering her voice. “This is extra. You’ll definitely like it when you open it.”

Lin Sui looked at Gu Nian, then at the thin, square gift box, and suddenly understood. As if she had obtained a treasure, she hid the box in her pocket, unable to hide her excitement. “Thank you, Wanbai-jie! I love it so much!”

Du Wanbai giggled, turned around, and neatly rolled up her sleeves, taking out the ingredients from her bag to start washing.

Jiang Sheng saw that Du Wanbai was done talking to Lin Sui, relaxed his defenses, and squeezed over to help Du Wanbai.

Zhou Shan greeted Lin Sui, then took Jun Changfeng behind him to the other side to sort out the ingredients. In an instant, the originally spacious kitchen was packed full of five people, and the food was piled up like a small warehouse. Lin Sui watched for a while, feeling even better as he continued to chop vegetables.

He had a feeling that this would be a super, super great New Year!

Because there were five more people, and chatterboxes like Zhou Shan and Jiang Sheng, the somewhat quiet villa suddenly became noisy. Giggling and funny voices rose and fell. Gu Nian wondered if he had made friends with a bunch of monkeys.

However… Gu Nian looked at Lin Sui’s smile, which hadn’t disappeared all day, and thought that he still had good taste in friends.

Time flew by, and it was six o’clock in the evening. After a whole afternoon of work, the huge round table in the dining room was filled with dishes, all of which were Chinese cuisine. Looking at it at a glance, it was almost a complete collection of the eight major cuisines, and there were even after-dinner desserts prepared. It was the kind of spread that would be called Versailles if posted online.

Lin Sui didn’t know where he found a pile of red lanterns, and when he hung them around, the New Year’s atmosphere immediately came out. Gu Nian was also infected by this lively atmosphere and took out his treasured good wine.

As soon as Jiang Sheng saw it, he cried out, saying that he was benefiting from Lin Sui, otherwise Gu Nian would never be willing to let them drink such good wine usually.

Gu Nian glared at him, then couldn’t help but laugh, scolding, “Stop talking nonsense, have I ever treated you badly? Get a glass and pour it yourself.”

As soon as these words came out, Zhou Shan, who had been drooling for a long time, took the lead and grabbed the first glass. He took a sip and couldn’t help but reveal an intoxicated expression.

Seeing this, Jun Changfeng raised his eyebrows and naturally took the wine glass from Zhou Shan’s hand, taking a sip from where his lips had touched.

Hmm, not bad, I’ll buy this for a wine cabinet at home later.

Zhou Shan blushed and snatched the wine glass back, the six-foot-tall man’s face turning red all the way down to his neck.

Jiang Sheng and Du Wanbai saw everything clearly, but pretended not to see it, giggling and blackmailing Gu Nian for his stocks, and in the end, they really managed to get a few more bottles of good wine, making the atmosphere even more lively.

Lin Sui picked up his chopsticks, ate some food, and then his eyes were glued to the wine bottle. He ate each bite without tasting it, and after looking at the wine bottle for a while, he turned to look at Gu Nian expectantly.

Gu Nian: …

Gu Nian’s heart softened into a puddle when he saw this. After thinking about it, he poured Lin Sui less than half a glass, instructing, “Just this much, you’ll get drunk if you have more.”

Lin Sui’s eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously, impatiently taking the wine glass and cautiously sipping it.

Delicious!

The light fruity aroma masked the intensity of the alcohol, tasting sweet but also having a very mellow wine flavor.

The antenna on Lin Sui’s head stood up, swaying back and forth.

Gu Nian’s hands itched when he saw it, so he reached out and vigorously rubbed the soft, fluffy hair to relieve some of the urge.

At this time, Jiang Sheng and the others had already finished a whole bottle together, and a few of them were a little drunk. Jiang Sheng said in a tipsy state, “There’s still a while before the Spring Festival Gala, why don’t we play a game?”

“What?” Du Wanbai asked with great interest.

“Hey, just the most classic one, Truth or Dare.” Jiang Sheng shook the wine bottle. “Whoever the bottle points to has to choose one. If they can’t do it, they have to drink a glass of wine, a full glass! No one is allowed to cheat!”

“Interesting! I want to play!” Zhou Shan said excitedly. Jun Changfeng, who was next to him, thought for a while, then nodded to join in.

“Nian-ge and sister-in-law, come on.” Seeing everyone’s enthusiastic response, Jiang Sheng finally revealed his true purpose.

Lin Sui had never played this kind of game before. He was curious, and since everyone was familiar with each other, there was nothing to worry about. He quickly nodded in agreement and huddled over with a pillow.

Since Lin Sui went, Gu Nian naturally went too.

With all six people officially present, Jiang Sheng nodded in satisfaction. “Then I’ll start.”

After speaking, he spun the bottle hard. The bottle swayed back and forth, spinning among the six people, and finally tremblingly pointed to—Zhou Shan.

“Oops.” Zhou Shan immediately grimaced and scratched his head. “Then I’ll dare to… uh, let’s go with Truth.”

Zhou Shan originally wanted to say “Dare,” but he suddenly remembered that there was still a Jun Changfeng here. In order not to repeat the same mistake, he decisively changed his mind temporarily.

Jiang Sheng grinned, not surprised at all, and asked a question without even thinking, “Do you have someone you like right now?”

Sure enough, Zhou Shan froze.

This question was nothing if not tricky. Although he didn’t say it directly, the person who had been close to Zhou Shan recently was that one, and he was still at the scene… Jun Changfeng couldn’t help but look expectantly at the person beside him.

“Uh.” Under such gaze, Zhou Shan’s hand, which was about to reach for the wine glass, inexplicably retracted. He said vaguely, “I, I guess I do.”

Before the sound could even fade, Jun Changfeng couldn’t help but pounce on Zhou Shan to hug him. If it weren’t for the occasion, he would have directly grabbed the person and kissed him.

“Okay, I’ll reluctantly let you pass.” Jiang Sheng was also quite afraid that Zhou Shan would really give him a hot kissing scene here, so he quickly changed the subject. “Hurry up and spin.”

Zhou Shan didn’t dare to glance to the side, stiffly spun the wine bottle, and then immediately leaned back in his seat, holding a pillow in front of him.

The wine bottle swayed and swayed, and when it finally stopped, everyone was stunned.