Michelle only met Ji Boan a few times when she was very young, and she hasn't seen him since he went abroad. She is still very reserved towards him.
It is precisely because of Ji Baian's presence that there is a comparison. It is obvious that the little girl is more familiar with Bai Luochuan and is better.
Ji Baian didn't care and generously gave Michelle a gift. Not only did he stay for dinner, but he also waited for the cake after dinner.
The little girl put on her birthday hat and closed her eyes seriously to make a wish. The lights in the room were turned off, leaving only the faint flickering light from the burning candles. It shone on the faces of the people around her as if they were coated with a layer of warm golden light, and they all had kind smiles on their faces.
Ji Baian looked at Mi Yang who was accompanying the little girl diagonally opposite him, watched for a while, and then laughed too.
Bai Luochuan saw it, but because there were so many people around, he just frowned.
After the candles were blown out, everyone shared the cake. Ji Baian also got a piece and ate it with relish, squinting his eyes.
Cheng Qing went to the kitchen to cut fruit for the little guests. Mi Zehai happened to have some company matters to discuss with Bai Luochuan, so the two of them sat on the sofa and discussed in a low voice. Mi Yang and Ji Baian were left there to accompany the little girl.
Mi Xue kept sneaking a peek at the new guest. Mi Yang asked her to say hello to the handsome boy, but she just said "hello" and hid behind Mi Yang like a little rabbit, looking at the new guest vigilantly.
Ji Baian actually had a good impression of her. Perhaps because she had been avoiding him, he remembered the time when he and Mi Yang were together as children. He smiled and said, "Xiaoxue, right? I took a look at your book. You like the constellations in it, right? I saw that you even marked them."
Michelle nodded.
Ji Baian flipped through it casually, and sat there to discuss the constellations with the little girl seriously. He knew as much as the little girl, and looked very interested in everything she said. When he heard Michelle talking about Libra, he immediately agreed, "Yes, I like this, too."
Michelle asked happily, "What's your zodiac sign, brother?"
Ji Baian smiled and said, "Gemini, they get along best with Libra."
Bai Luochuan, who was sitting on the sofa talking to Mi Zehai, looked up, frowned slightly, and quickly set his sights on Ji Baian.
Ji Baian chatted with the little girl about zodiac signs for a while, then went to talk to Mi Yang and even read his palm. He said excitedly, "Stretch out your hand, I'll take a look for you?"
Mi Yang didn't reach out his hand, but smiled and said, "Are you still studying this abroad?"
Ji Baian said: "A kind of fatalism is quite worth studying, isn't it? Anyway, I'm just bored and there are only a few things I can do, so I just want to try everything out."
He was about to grab Mi Yang's hand, but as soon as he touched it, someone pinched his wrist. Bai Luochuan came over and said to him, "I think it's almost time. Your aunt will call everywhere to look for you soon. I'll take you home."
Ji Baian said: "No, I..."
Bai Luochuan pulled him up and said, "I'll take you there."
Ji Baian stood up and said with a smile, "Okay, it's time to go." Even though his cousin pinched his wrist, he politely said goodbye to the host and said warmly, "Thank you Aunt Cheng and Uncle Mi for the hospitality. I ate a lot and the cake was delicious. I must invite Mi Yang and Xiao Xue to come to my house some other day."
Bai Luochuan stood at the door and said, "Aunt Cheng, I'm going back first."
Cheng Qing sent them to the door, Bai Luochuan walked in front, and Ji Baian took his windbreaker and scarf and followed him out.
Bai Luochuan didn't let him go back by himself. He really asked him to get in his car and take him back.
As soon as he got in the car, Bai Luochuan frowned and said, "Wait for me in the car for a while, I'll be there soon."
Ji Baian didn't know what he was going to do. He watched him get off the bus and go back to the corridor. Just as he arrived, he ran into someone who was chasing him down. Mi Yang came down in a hurry, still wearing slippers, holding a knitted thick scarf in his hand and said to him, "I was just talking about it, but I forgot it before leaving. Here, this is the love scarf knitted by my mother. I've been wearing it for two days. You can wear it too."
Bai Luochuan stood there and let him wrap it around him. He was a little tall, so Mi Yang had to tiptoe to fix it for him. When they were tiptoeing, they were very close to each other. Bai Luochuan could even see his long eyelashes when he lowered his eyes a little, and every tremble seemed to tremble in his heart, making him feel itchy. The warmth of the scarf seemed to melt into his heart.
Bai Luochuan stood there and said, "What's written in that magazine is just to appease children, it may not be accurate."
Mi Yang was stunned for a moment before he realized what he was talking about, "You still believe in horoscopes, I don't believe in that."
Bai Luochuan was still a little unhappy and asked him, "Then what do you believe in?"
Mi Yang smiled and said, "I believe you. I believe whatever you say."
With just one sentence, the young master's mood cleared up and he became happy again.
Ji Baian was sitting in the car and looking out. His cousin was blocking the way very skillfully. He watched for a long time before he realized that the man chasing him was Mi Yang. Just when he was about to get out of the car to say a few more words, he saw his cousin with a dark face returned to the car and Mi Yang left.
Ji Baian looked at his new scarf and his eyes swirled around. Before he could say anything, Bai Luochuan rejected him: "Don't even think about it. It's impossible."
Ji Baian laughed: "I haven't even said what I want yet!"
Bai Luochuan yawned, and stopped pretending to be an excellent student when they were alone. He raised his eyebrows and said, "You can't do anything. Go back to your home. Why are you running around?"
Ji Baian was not convinced: "I came here to find Mi Yang. Hey brother, Mi Yang can't have only you as his friend, right?"
Bai Luochuan said: "He has a lot of friends."
"That's it. It's just me. What are you afraid of, brother? Can I eat him?" Ji Baian stretched and smiled, "I just think he's quite interesting, especially when he's with you. Don't you realize that Xiaoguai is younger than you and always gives in to you? Sometimes I feel like he's like an elder..."
Bai Luochuan said coldly: "Call him by his name."
Ji Baian squinted at him and said with a smile, "Can't I even yell?"
Bai Luochuan said: "No."
Ji Baian grumbled a little, but still said, "Then I'll call Mi Yang."
Bai Luochuan frowned and endured it.
Ji Baian was sitting there still chatting with him, probably because he had been abroad for too long, he could talk about anything. Bai Luochuan closed his eyes and talked a few words with him half-ignoringly. They had been together like this since they were young, and Ji Baian was used to it. He was very satisfied to be able to return home early this time and meet them. In previous years, his cousin and Mi Yang and the others would have returned to Shanhai Town by now, where there was an old man named Bai, and they would return to the old house to celebrate the holidays every year.
Ji Baian asked, "Brother, when are you going back this year? Aren't you going back to your hometown for the New Year?"
Bai Luochuan said: "After the Chinese New Year, around the fifth day of the first lunar month."
Ji Baian asked again: "Is Mi Yang going with you?"
Bai Luochuan said: "Yes, together."
It was not easy for Ji Baian to chase him to Shanhai Town. He also had a lot of things to do at home. At most, he would take some time out to play in Shanghai. When he heard this, he said, "Then I will come to see him tomorrow..."
Bai Luochuan said: "He is not free tomorrow, so he has to accompany me to look at the blueprints."
Ji Baian said: "Then the day after tomorrow."
Bai Luochuan said, "It won't work the day after tomorrow. I have to go pick some saplings. I found a few good Osmanthus fragrans and plan to take them to Shanhai Town to plant. There's a lot to do over there as they're rebuilding the old house."
Ji Baian laughed angrily: "Then I'll wait for him for a week. I can't have my schedule filled up during this time, right?"
Bai Luochuan sat there and thought for a while, then said slowly, "You're right. A classmate of theirs has a birthday in a week, and they made an appointment two months in advance."
Ji Baian: “…”
Ji Baian didn't believe it, but he came several times but failed to catch anyone. Sometimes when he met Mi Yang in the pharmacy, he was politely declined: "My mother is sick, I have to take her shift."
Cheng Qing has a cold, so Mi Yang has been bringing his homework to the pharmacy to do these days, so he has no time to go out.
There is no lie in this kind of thing. Ji Baian sat there and talked to him: "Are you always so busy?"
Mi Yang smiled and nodded: "About the same."
Ji Baian asked again: "Then it seems that you don't often carry your phone with you. Every time I call you, you hang up, and you never reply to my messages."
Mi Yang was puzzled, blinked and looked at him for a while, then said in a daze: "Ah, yes."
Ji Baian still didn't quite believe it, so he took out his cell phone and checked the number with Mi Yang himself, and asked him, "Is this yours? My brother said it's yours."
Mi Yang looked down and saw that string of numbers was so familiar, except for the last digit, the rest were the same as his. If it wasn’t Young Master Bai’s, then whose was it
But even so, he could only cover it up to the end and nodded seriously: "Yes, it's mine."
Ji Baian laughed and said, "That's good. I thought my brother was lying to me again."
Master Ji is a person who can't sit still. He wanted to take Mi Yang out to play, but he couldn't stand staying in one place for a long time. After waiting for a while, he got up and left with a little regret. While sitting in the car, he thought that maybe what his cousin said was true, and Mi Yang was really busy this winter vacation.
Mi Yang was not the only one who was busy. Bai Luochuan was also busy.
The old house of the Bai family in Shanhai Town has reached the final stage of decoration. It took one or two years to slowly polish it. It is much more difficult to move it as it is than to rebuild it. About half of the old house has been abandoned. The small buildings that were originally made of good wood are still preserved. After being re-polished and maintained, they were moved there. After being restored to their original glory, they have a unique ancient charm. Old Bai was very happy to see it, and he specially hired someone to grow flowers and plants, and even took care of the pond in the yard and buried lotus seeds in it.
Bai Luochuan's statement about taking Mi Yang to see the Osmanthus fragrans was not made up. Old Bai really wanted a few of these trees, and he took Mi Yang to look for them, intending to bring some back to please the old man.
During the day, he is busy going to the company with Mi Zehai, and sometimes he also runs around the venue. He can only spare time to take Mi Yang to the flower market in the afternoon. Sometimes he also goes to the night market late at night. Although he is tired, Master Bai feels quite fulfilled.
He was young and didn't feel tired, so he just needed a good sleep. However, the middle-aged man Yonezawa Hai felt a little tired.
Cheng Qing had a cold for a few days. His son went to the pharmacy to help, and Mi Zehai ran between the company and the hospital to take care of his wife. Many people caught colds during the Spring Festival, and sometimes Cheng Qing only had an infusion chair. Mi Zehai hadn't had a good rest for a few days, and the company's work had to be caught up, so he could only find time to look at the drawings and documents at night. He stayed up for too long and inevitably felt sleepy during the day. He was in a daze and accidentally fell from a shopping mall that had not been fully renovated. If Bai Luochuan next to him hadn't quickly protected him, he would have rolled down two flights of stairs and broken his head.
Yonezawa Hai was unharmed, but Bai Luochuan suffered some minor injuries.
He's fine, just hurt his leg and needs to rest.
Mi Zehai blamed himself very much for this, but Bai Luochuan felt that it was justified. It was normal for him to protect Mi Yang's family, especially since they were the elders who had watched him grow up for more than ten years.
Mi Yang stopped his work at the pharmacy and went to take care of Master Bai, cooking soup and porridge, and making some light and refreshing side dishes for him. Bai Luochuan looked better in the hospital, and finished all the homework he had before. He was bored and asked Mi Yang questions to test each other. Among the questions asked by Master Bai, one of them was a big question in the college entrance examination. Mi Yang watched him ask questions and answer them by himself, and felt that this man had reason to be arrogant.
But doing exercises was just an excuse. Bai Luochuan felt it was great that Mi Yang could come and accompany him every day.
The injury on his leg was not serious, but he could not walk for a while and could only stay in the hospital as an idle person. Mi Zehai felt guilty, and when Bai Luochuan mentioned that he wanted Mi Yang to come and see him, he immediately agreed and made bone soup every day for Mi Yang to send it to him.