The New Year is getting closer, and on the eve of New Year's Eve, Xu's mother called.
"Qiao Qiao, when are you going home? Chinese New Year is coming tomorrow..."
Xu Qiao had just come out of the shower and was sitting on the bed wiping his hair with a dry towel. He paused when he heard Xu Ma's question.
To be honest, he didn't really want to go back. He had planned to just go out and stroll around during the New Year. Xu Qiao always felt that it was the home of Xu's mother and stepfather, and had little to do with him. If he went there, he would sit at the same table and not be able to talk, which only added to the awkwardness.
But the female voice on the other end of the phone was cautious, and the words of rejection reached Xu Qiao's throat, but were swallowed back.
Xu Qiao lay down and whispered, "Go back tomorrow."
Hearing Xu Qiao's words, Xu's mother immediately uttered two "eh" sounds, with a hint of joy in her voice: "Then mom will prepare dinner for you. Your brother is looking forward to your return."
After Xu Qiao hung up the phone, he stared at the ceiling light, sighed for a long time, got out of bed, changed out of his pajamas, put on a mask and a hat, and went out. From the elevator down to the underground parking lot, Li Feifei also went home for the New Year, and Mo Chenghong's business car was parked here.
When we drove out, we saw crowds of people on the streets, and several children playing with electric fireworks. The atmosphere was festive and lively everywhere.
Shops and businesses all hung up red lanterns. From afar, the street looked like a long, thin river of red, dotted with lights.
Xu Qiao parked the car, walked into a clothing store, picked out two down jackets, and bought some supplements and food and put them in the trunk.
The next morning, Xu Qiao put the packed suitcase in the car and drove home. His hometown was in the next province, and it only took three or four hours to drive there. There was some traffic on the road, so Xu Qiao left early in the morning and didn't get home until the afternoon.
The town is remote and the control of fireworks is not strict. A few little boys were teasing a little girl by smashing firecrackers on the roadside. The little girl was frightened by the noise and started crying. She ran a few steps unsteadily and was tripped by a stone and was about to fall to the ground.
A pair of hands embraced her, and the little girl, with tears in her eyes, saw a handsome brother who was only seen on TV hugging her.
Xu Qiao patted her head, looked at the little boys beside him, and said with a disapproving smile: "Don't scare your sister."
The little boys looked at each other, their faces turned red, they hid the firecrackers in their hands behind their backs, and nodded vigorously.
Xu Qiao put the little girl down, pulled her scarf up a bit, and walked towards home.
"That brother is so handsome..."
Most of the houses in the town were self-built. Xu Qiao stopped in front of a small courtyard. Inside was a two-story building with two vegetable gardens covered with plastic film.
Mother Xu had boiled some paste and placed the Spring Festival couplets next to her. She stood on tiptoe, dipped a brush in the paste and brushed it on the door.
Since her husband and son were unable to stand up, she had to do the work of pasting Spring Festival couplets. Xu Ma was thin and small, so she had some difficulty in brushing high places.
She stretched out her hand, tilted her neck and patiently and carefully applied the paste bit by bit. At this moment, a thin white hand took the brush from her hand.
Mother Xu was a little surprised. She turned her head and saw Xu Qiao. Her eyes suddenly turned red and she stammered, "Qiao Qiao, you, you're back."
Xu Qiao said "hmm", applied the paste, picked up the Spring Festival couplets beside him, and pasted them carefully.
Xu Ma stood aside, wiping her hands on her apron, and said awkwardly, "Qiao Qiao, are you hungry? I'll make you a bowl of dumplings first, and we'll have the New Year's Eve dinner later."
Xu Qiao lowered his eyelashes and nodded.
After the Spring Festival couplets were posted, Xu Ma's dumplings were ready, and she invited Xu Qiao back to the house to eat.
Xu Qiao paused at the door, went outside to take out the things from the trunk of the car, and walked into the house.
His eyes turned to the young man sitting in a wheelchair in the room. This was his stepfather's son and his nominal younger brother, Qin Jiayue.
Qin Jiayue looked more like Xu Ma's child than Xu Qiao did. They were both thin and frail. He was delicate and pale, but his eyes were sparkling. When he saw Xu Qiao, he was obviously happy: "Brother."
Xu Qiao nodded slightly, then put the things in his hand on the table.
"For you." Xu Qiao took out a women's down jacket and handed it to Xu's mother, and then put a smoky gray down jacket on Qin Jiayue's knees.
There were some supplements on the table, and Xu Qiao said nothing more. Xu Ma glanced at them and wiped her tears: "I'll put these foods away and give them to your uncle."
"Thank you, brother." Qin Jiayue hugged the down jacket and said in a low voice, "I like it very much."
Another feeling of unfamiliarity, stiffness and awkwardness floated out.
Xu Qiao looked away and said casually, "As long as you like it."
"Come, eat some dumplings first, Qiao Qiao, sit down." Aunt Xu stuffed the chopsticks into Xu Qiao's hand.
Sitting at the table eating dumplings, Qin Jiayue turned his wheelchair closer, but did not dare to get too close, so he just watched from the side.
After eating the dumplings, Xu Qiao went to the inner room to take a look. The honest man Qin Zhengming couldn't move half of his body and spoke slurredly. He was obviously very happy to see Xu Qiao and said a few words incoherently.
Xu Qiao listened for a while before he realized that he wanted Xu Ma to give him a red envelope.
In the evening, Xu Ma carried Qin Zhengming out of the room, and the family watched the Spring Festival Gala while eating the New Year's Eve dinner.
Qin Jiayue was in high spirits and talked a lot. He said he wanted to stay up all night with his brother until dawn.
Qin Zhengming was not feeling well, so Xu Ma took him back to his room to sleep early.
There were only Qin Jiayue and Xu Qiao in the living room.
"Brother, are you leaving after the New Year?"
"Well, I'll leave in two days."
"Brother, I ranked fifth in my grade in the final exam. The teacher said if I keep it up, I might be able to get into T University."
"fine."
"Brother, I watched the TV series you acted in. You acted really well, flying over eaves and walls, it was so cool."
Xu Qiao looked at his legs drooping limply in the wheelchair and said nothing more.
Qin Jiayue said he would stay up until dawn, but the Spring Festival Gala had not ended yet. At eleven o'clock, his eyes were already hazy and his head was nodding.
When the host on TV started reading the countdown in an excited voice, Xu Qiao tilted his head and saw that the child had fallen asleep.
“…3, 2, 1, Happy New Year!”
Cheers rang out.
There were bursts of fireworks outside the window, and bursts of colorful light came in through the window.
Xu Qiao turned off the TV, stood up, gently picked up Qin Jiayue from the wheelchair, and walked towards his room.
"Happy New Year." Xu Qiao whispered.
In the room opposite, Xu's mother stood outside the door, looking at the backs of the two teenagers, covering her mouth and crying silently.
Xu Qiao put Qin Jiayue on the bed and was about to leave.
In the darkness, Qin Jiayue dazedly grabbed the corner of his clothes.
"Happy New Year… "
"Brother, I like you so much."
Xu Qiao returned to the capital not long after staying at home. Mo Chenghong said that he was contacting him about an advertisement and a variety show. Xu Qiao asked about it and found out that the advertisement seemed to be related to public welfare.
On the other hand, his role in "The Chatting General" is almost finished.
After the episode in which Jin'er died was broadcast, countless up-loaders worked overnight to cut out his scene.
Jin'er's humility, affection and despair earned a lot of tears. Her seamless acting and the scene of her dancing on a snowy night made "Liao Jiang" a hit overnight, catching everyone off guard.
Previously, "Liao Jiang" had a good momentum and outstanding performance among several online dramas of the same period, and the reviews were quite good, but it was far from the level of a hit.
As a result, Jin'er died. After the show was broadcast, it occupied the top three hot search positions. With the keywords Xu Qiao Jin'er, Concubine Jin'er was drunk, and Jin'er died, "Liao Jiang" was immediately brought to the attention of everyone.
After seeing the heated discussion about "Liao Jiang", passers-by who haven't seen it clicked on the topic and couldn't help but become curious when they saw the edited video.
In the video, a young man in a red wedding dress stands in the vast expanse of snow, and a feeling of emptiness and loneliness arises.
Snowflakes dotted his black hair. The young man drank by himself, sang opera lyrics and danced with his sleeves waving in the moonlight and snowy night. It was so eye-catching that one couldn't bear to blink.
He sang "The Drunken Concubine" and his dancing posture was as charming and innocent as a drunk concubine, with seductive eyes. At the end, after drinking three cups of poisoned wine, the smile on his face and the silence in his eyes mixed together, coupled with the last lyrics, earned enough tears.
The scene in which Si Cheng held him and knelt in the falling snow was also painted by many painters.
The number of views of "Liao Jiang" on the platform has been rising steadily, leaving the online dramas of the same period far behind.
Chun Yuyuan must have some feelings for Jin Er! Even if it’s not love, it must be something else, right? ! Otherwise, why would he cry! !
Woo woo woo, after watching the first few episodes, I felt that Xu Qiao really was the kind of person that made people want to bully him severely, but I was so sad to see him die. Could you please be nicer to the poor little guy
I'm a fan of the book. When I was reading the book, I really hated Jin'er. I thought he was pretentious and vicious, but now I think he is hateful and pitiful.
It's amazing, it's really amazing, Xu Qiao really made this unlikable character lovable
I don't know how many times I've watched the dancing scene, the sparkling eyes made me cry
Watching Xu Qiao act is really natural and comfortable, not out of character at all, really, it's so easy to immerse yourself in it
Is this lyrics really the original version or not a dubbing
Faced with such doubts, Jiang Wen directly released the highlights of that day.
Due to editing requirements, not all of the lyrics and dance segments were presented in the final episode. But when Xu Qiao was acting, in order to keep the emotions connected, he sang and danced the lyrics and dance segments in full.
The full version of the on-site footage from the crew was released, and netizens were stunned.
I thought at least the unnecessary shots would be given some attention, but in fact, the complete lyrics and dance in the shots were like a grand and unpretentious performance.
Didn't they say he can't sing or dance? I saw he's really good in the video. He seems to have a solid foundation.
The full version is really amazing
He tied his hair with a red silk ribbon. My god, the hairband was so loose. I have never seen anyone look so beautiful with their hair down.
"Liao Jiang" has caused such a heated discussion that naturally some people are dissatisfied with it.
Xu Qiao’s acting is indeed pretty good, but the character has been changed too much compared to the original, right
I've been wanting to say this for a long time, it feels like there's a thorn in my heart, book fans say they really can't stand this kind of magic change
Flip through the book and compare it with the current plot. How many scenes did the director add to Xu Qiao? I have to wonder if there is any py transaction.
Really... the added drama is too much. I can't accept that the book has been changed like this.
At this time, the author of "Chatting about the Passing Years with the Brocade Seal" spoke out.