Is This The Right Way To Repay A Favor? Chapter 95

New Year

As the Lunar New Year approached, cases of infection and fever increased. Both the Shen family patriarch and Jiang Zhou’s father caught the bug.

The two families had originally planned to celebrate the New Year together, but due to the illness of the adults in both households, the plan had to be reluctantly canceled. Shen Zhiyu returned to Jing City to accompany his grandfather, and Jiang Zhou also returned to Yongnan Village to look after his father.

Shen Zhiyu was quite bothered that they couldn’t spend their first New Year together after becoming a couple.

On New Year’s Eve, he insisted on video calling Jiang Zhou for half the day, and the question he asked most frequently was, “Will you resent me?”

Jiang Zhou couldn’t help but find it amusing. “Of course not.”

“You say that now. But when we argue later, you’ll bring it up and scold me.”

Jiang Zhou felt a bit speechless hearing this. “When have I ever scolded you?”

Shen Zhiyu immediately became energized and helped him recall, bit by bit. “Half a month ago, you called me a bastard; a week ago, you called me a dog; two days ago, you called me shameless; and the day before yesterday, you called me…”

The more Jiang Zhou listened, the more something felt wrong, and he quickly interrupted him. “What nonsense are you spouting?”

Shen Zhiyu saw a faint blush spread across Jiang Zhou’s cheeks and was in high spirits. Although the two had been intimate many times, this person was still as easy to tease as ever, blushing at the slightest provocation—it was highly entertaining.

Shen Zhiyu loved seeing him look so annoyed yet helpless.

“Nonsense? It seems Zhouzhou has forgotten. Should I be more specific to help you remember? Like that time half a month ago, we were on the balcony…”

Jiang Zhou couldn’t listen anymore and abruptly hung up the video call.

Jiang Zhou’s father heard the noise and glanced at him. “What’s wrong? Did you argue with Zhiyu?”

“No.” Jiang Zhou put down his phone and went to the kitchen to help.

——

Fireworks were not yet banned in the countryside. While large-scale fireworks were prohibited in the village, small ones were allowed.

Jiang Zhou accompanied Jiang Yue in the courtyard to set off fireworks. Among them was a small cluster of golden trees and silver flowers, with silver light mixed into the golden glow. Jiang Zhou found it familiar and beautiful, so he took a picture and sent it to Shen Zhiyu.

Time quickly reached midnight, and family members successively washed up and went to sleep. Jiang Zhou checked his phone again after showering, but Shen Zhiyu still hadn’t replied.

Jiang Zhou seemed to realize something. He put on a thick down jacket, grabbed a bag of unspent fireworks, and walked alone to the old banyan tree at the village entrance.

The winter night in the countryside was very cold, with bone-chilling breezes. Jiang Zhou wrapped his coat tightly around himself and stood quietly under the tree, his gaze fixed on the road leading out of the village.

After an unknown amount of time, a pair of headlights approached from a distance, like a streak of starlight cutting through the darkness, stopping steadily in front of him.

The car door opened, and Shen Zhiyu quickly stepped out, carrying the chill of the night wind. When he saw the figure waiting quietly under the streetlamp, all his urgency transformed into an indescribable emotion.

He took a few steps to Jiang Zhou, grasped his slightly cool hand, and his voice, hoarse from the long drive and surging emotions, asked, “Why are you waiting here? Aren’t you cold?”

Jiang Zhou looked up at him, his eyes reflecting the soft light of the streetlamp. “I wanted you to see me the moment you arrived.”

“Silly.” Shen Zhiyu ruffled his hair with his other hand. “If I hadn’t come, would you have stood here until dawn?”

“No.” Jiang Zhou’s voice was very soft, yet carried a heavy certainty. “I knew you would come for me.”

Because he believed, he knew that standing there was not waiting for an uncertain possibility, but welcoming an inevitable reunion.

Shen Zhiyu’s throat moved slightly. All the dust of the journey and the anxiety of separation were instantly smoothed over and warmed by that single sentence.

He lowered his head and kissed the corner of Jiang Zhou’s lips. “Yes, I’m here.”

Jiang Zhou held out the bag he had been carrying, his lips curving into a faint, warm smile. “This is for you.”

Shen Zhiyu looked down. The bag was filled with various handheld fireworks.

“Come on, I’ll take you somewhere.” Jiang Zhou pulled him through the quiet village alleys to the open threshing ground behind the village.

This area was far from the dense residential houses, offering an open view. Looking up, they could see scattered stars on the dark blue sky and the occasional fireworks rising in the distance.

Jiang Zhou took a sparkler out of the bag and lit it with a lighter.

“Tsss—” Tiny golden sparks erupted from the sparkler, dancing before Jiang Zhou’s smiling eyes, illuminating his handsome features vividly.

Shen Zhiyu also lit a few small ground-based fountains. Colored light balls whistled through the night, blossoming into brief but brilliant flowers in the air.

In the flickering light and shadow, they smiled at each other.

When the last trace of the fireworks faded into the night, the threshing ground returned to silence, and the air was filled with a faint smell of gunpowder.

Shen Zhiyu reached out and gently pulled Jiang Zhou into his embrace.

“Are you cold?” Shen Zhiyu asked in a low voice, tightening his arms around him.

Jiang Zhou shook his head, his cheeks flushed, his eyes startlingly bright in the darkness. He gently held Shen Zhiyu’s hand, his voice carrying a subtle tremor. “Let’s go to Youran Residence. My dad and the others should be asleep.”

“Youran Residence?” Shen Zhiyu’s eyes darkened, a hint of expectation in his tone. “But I want to go to your room.”

“No, we’ll wake them up.”

“Why would we wake them up?” Shen Zhiyu looked at Jiang Zhou with an innocent expression. “Is CEO Jiang planning to do something naughty?”

Jiang Zhou lifted his head to nip his chin. “You better not.”

A muffled laugh rumbled from Shen Zhiyu’s throat, accompanied by a slight vibration.

The two eventually returned to Youran Residence.

Almost the moment they stepped inside, Shen Zhiyu kissed Jiang Zhou, urgent and passionate, with an undeniable possessiveness.

The thick down jackets slid to the floor, and clothes were shed with rustling sounds. The sensation of skin meeting skin felt exceptionally hot in the cool air.

Jiang Zhou tilted his head back, receiving his dense kisses, his voice fragmented and messy.

The moonlight gently enveloped their figures, and the sporadic sound of firecrackers outside the window served as a distant accompaniment.