On the first floor, Miori and Kazuo Asaba are preparing for the dinner.
"Dad Lixiang, what do you think they are doing upstairs? It has been so long and they are about to have a baby..."
"You women have been thinking about this all day long. I think Shen Yu is a very upright person, very similar to me when I was young. He will not mess around."
"That's it for you. If I ask for it, you'll bully me..."
In fact, it was Miori who was busy, and Kazuo Asaba was here to cause trouble. After staying there for a while, he was kicked out to hang up the continuous bet rope and swing the door loose.
The continuous note rope is equivalent to the couplets posted during the Chinese New Year. It is made of straw rope and is also similar to the hanging door god here.
Kadomatsu is equivalent to two pots of oranges, which are also placed symmetrically at the door. They are made of moso bamboo, pine branches, and plum blossoms. They are called the "three friends of winter" because these three plants can maintain their vitality even in the cold winter. The strong vitality symbolizes good luck. After the Edo period, it was also given the meaning of welcoming the arrival of the God of Wealth.
In addition to these two things, the family also offers a kind of mascot called mirror cake, which is actually a pagoda-shaped rice cake ball for worshiping gods.
Today is the last day of 2020. It is New Year’s Eve in Japan, also known as Day of the Sun. At noon, Rika and her family did not eat. They ate buckwheat noodles, which are called "Nianyue Buckwheat" in Japan. It is similar to the dumplings and dumplings we eat during the New Year here. It is the custom of rice cakes and glutinous rice balls. Wait until tonight to eat Osechi cuisine.
Because Miori is a very traditional housewife, she takes care of things like New Year and festivals. She takes great care every year and starts preparing New Year's things a few days ago.
Miori knows how to do it, and so does Rika. If Shen Yu hadn't come over today, she would still be in the kitchen helping her mother prepare Osechi dishes.
Li Xiang took Shen Yu around the house and said hello to Miori when she came downstairs:
"Mom, Shen Yujun and I are going to send New Year's cards to my uncle and the others. Where do you put the keys to your electric car?"
"Eh? Rika has a new hat! Kawaii!"
Rika ran downstairs, the little dandelion-like ball on the top of her hat trembling.
Miori pinched the ball of her hat. When Rika wore this knitted hat, she looked like a cute little bunny.
"Hehe, Mr. Shen Yu gave it to me! Does it look good?"
"Kawaii! Are you going now? Why don't you let Li Xiang's father take you there? Some of them live far away, so just mail them there..."
"Electric bikes! Electric bikes! We want to ride electric bikes!"
"You don't know how to ride..."
"Shen Yujun knows how to do it!"
Both mother and daughter spoke in Japanese. Shen Yu felt as if he had walked into a Japanese cartoon family and understood nothing except kawaii.
Soon, Li Xiang came out with an electric car key, pulled Shen Yu and ran outside.
The sunshine in the afternoon is very good. It is a good weather on the last day of the New Year. The sky is blue and it looks very comfortable.
As Asaba Kazuo arranged the strings, kadomatsu and red New Year stickers, the New Year atmosphere at home became even stronger.
"You want to ride an electric bike?"
"Yeah, Lord Shen Yu will take good care of me, dad and mom can rest assured!"
"Then come back early!"
"I know, I know."
Kazuo Asaba said to Shen Yu in Chinese again: "Lixiang, you are stupid and don't know the way. Shen Yu takes care of her, please!"
Shen Yu quickly said: "Uncle, don't worry."
"Hey, Mr. Shen Yu, give you the key!"
Li Xiang opened his hand and put the key in his palm. Shen Yu felt that she was taking advantage of him again. As long as she had the opportunity to touch him, hug him, and hold his hand, Li Xiang didn't care at all. Will miss it.
The electric bicycle is parked in the yard, and there are two Nissan cars next to it. Due to the convenient transportation, there are not many people riding electric bicycles here. Only occasionally Miori will ride one and go shopping nearby.
Lixiang can't drive, ride an electric car, or ride a bicycle. She's not good at taking buses, subways, or planes. Because she's a road addict, she never goes out without anyone to take her with her. , if someone was carrying it, she wouldn't have to use her brain to remember these things, she could just follow them stupidly.
At this point, Rika seems quite stupid, but she also has an advantage, that is, she is very accurate in judging people. She probably knows that she is stupid, so she will never follow others who she cannot trust, and she has a sixth sense Super strong, you can tell who is worth making friends with at a glance.
The style of this electric car is different from the one at home. It's a women's style, with a sky blue body and a relatively small size. There are fixed windproof gloves on the handlebars, so you can put your hands in them so you won't get cold in the winter.
Shen Yu rode up. He was already tall, so the electric bike looked even smaller.
Seeing him getting into the car, Li Xiang couldn't wait to climb into the back seat and sit down. Not wanting to waste a second, she put her hands into his coat pockets and then pressed her whole body against Shen Yu's back. on the back.
Li Xiang used to sit sideways on Shen Yu's electric car, but since winter came, she has changed to sitting astride her, because this way she can be infinitely close to Shen Yu, and she can also sandwich him, which will keep her warm! !
As Lixiang hugged his waist, the gloomy abdominal muscles immediately tightened like an electric shock. He took a deep breath and his heartbeat was a little fast.
It has been six days since I took her on an electric bike!
Li Xiang couldn't help but miss this feeling very much, and Shen Yu also missed it very much...
After all, during the few days when she was not at home, he rode his electric bike to school alone. He always felt that his back was empty and he was not used to it. When walking on the road, the cold wind blew and his whole body shivered.
"Shen Yujun, your stomach is so hard!"
"Can you please stop..."
Shen Yu patted the little hand on his belly through the coat. Li Xiang calmed down and put her little face behind his back, smelling his scent wantonly and enjoying the warmth he brought.
"Dad, let's go!"
"be safe… "
Asaba Kazuo, who was holding the door open at the door, looked at his daughter hanging behind Shen Yu, thinking that Shen Yu's nephew was really upright. After all, when Miori hugged him like this, he fell into despair...
After leaving the door, Shen Yu had not ridden fifty meters before Li Xiang asked him to stop.
"arrive?"
"Uh-huh."
The two got out of the car together and rang the neighbor's doorbell.
"This is the Kuta family. Uncle Kuta is also very close to our family. We often communicate with each other and I want to send a New Year's card."
"oh."
Chen Yu took out a stack of New Year's cards from the large lining pocket of his coat and found the one with the word "Kuda" on it.
"Is this this one?"
"Shen Yujun is so smart!"
"You can find this fool..."
Shen Yu was speechless. After all, he didn't know Japanese, but he still knew Chinese characters.
New Year's cards are a very important ritual in the Japanese New Year. Just like Christmas uses various colored lights and decorations to set off the atmosphere, the Japanese New Year begins with various New Year's cards. Starting from late December, postmen have been extremely busy, and the post office will also recruit a large number of temporary postmen. They must rush to deliver New Year's cards to each other on the first day.
This is different from sending blessings through text messages. They believe that even friends who have not been in contact for a long time should write a handwritten New Year's card to express blessings at the end of the year. It means that I am still thinking about you. After all, I wrote it with my own hand. The words below have weight, not just the weight of the ink, but also a sense of friendship.
If some people can't even receive a New Year's card, it will be too miserable for everyone. The New Year will completely lose its atmosphere and feel abandoned by all friends.
While waiting, Shen Yu also looked at the neighbor's house curiously.
There are many single-family houses here in Japan. They have a small yard, a parking lot, and a two- to three-story wooden building. They look like small villas and are very exquisite. They are different from the uniform-style community houses. Most of the owners of the house have their own decoration style.
Soon, a somewhat stout middle-aged man came out, adjusted his glasses, saw the girl outside clearly, opened the door and said enthusiastically: "It's Lixiang! Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year to Uncle Kuta! This is the New Year's card my dad asked me to give you! I wish you peace and happiness in the new year, and Aunt Yongcai a speedy recovery!"
"Thank you for your thoughts and blessings, thank you... "
Shen Yu couldn't understand what they were saying, but he could see the emotion in Uncle Kuta's eyes. He couldn't understand what Kuta was talking to Li Xiang, but he just felt that the New Year atmosphere in this house was far worse than that in Li Xiang's house. , not even the door pine was put out, and the weeds in the yard were getting a little tall.
"Who is this… "
"He is my lover, from China, his name is Shen Yu!"
After saying that, Lixiang pulled Shen Yu's hand without changing her expression and reminded in a low voice: "This is Uncle Kuta."
"Happy New Year, Uncle Kuta, Happy New Year!" The last sentence of Happy New Year was said by Shen Yu in Japanese.
Kuta looked at the young man and nodded frequently. He also wished Shen Yu a happy New Year. At the same time, he said to Lixiang: "Your boyfriend is so tall and good-looking. You two seem to be a perfect match. Let's work hard together to get married this year. Uncle Kuta I’ll give you a wedding gift.”
"Not so fast..."
"Lixiang is also of age to get married, so we must stay together!"
Li Xiang's face finally turned red, and she chatted with him about Aunt Yongcai's current situation, and finally took Shen Yu to leave.
After getting in the car, the two went to the next house to send New Year's cards.
If it wasn't too far from home, Li Xiang could still recognize the way, after all, she had stayed there for so many years.
We walked onto the main road when we came out, and Shen Yu kept to the right as a habit.
Li Xiang took the opportunity to scratch his belly again and reminded: "Shen Yujun, keep to the left, you are going against the grain!"
"Does that have anything to do with you grabbing my belly?"
"I'm reminding you!"
Thinking of the New Year's card sent just now, Shen Yu asked her again:
"Uncle Kuta, did something happen to his family? I see that he looks a little haggard."
"Well, his wife got sick and was hospitalized. She is still in the hospital and has not come back, so the New Year will not be lively."
"That's it..."
"So Shen Yujun must take good care of your body! You can't stay up late because of work! If you get sick, the people who love you will be worried!"
"Um… "
It was the same as her mother's usual nagging, but this time, Li Xiang's advice made Shen Yu take notice.
It will make the people who love you sad.
This sentence inexplicably touched a certain point in his heart. Feeling the warmth behind him, he didn't want to see Li Xiang sad.
The Japanese are relatively introverted, and they are not used to sitting at home for a few hours during New Year greetings, or having a big family of seven aunts and eight aunts bustling around. They are more worried about disturbing others, and don’t give gifts or anything like that. After all, when the New Year's card is delivered, it means that your wishes have been received.
For some people with whom she is relatively close, Lixiang will also give some snacks made by her mother as gifts, which is very appropriate.
If there are children in the other party's family, she will do magic and take out a small red envelope from Shen Yu's pocket and give it to the child. Shen Yu doesn't even know when she hid the red envelope.
"Aren't you not married yet you still want to give red envelopes?"
"Because I am taking Mr. Shen Yu to celebrate the New Year. The children will be very happy if they receive the red envelope!"
Li Xiang said with a smile. After all the New Year greetings, everyone thought Shen Yu was his boyfriend. After all, even the red envelopes were taken out of his pocket.
Lixiang doesn't care about other people's impressions of her. Most of these are her father and mother's relationship network. But this is the first time for Shen Yu to meet these relatives and friends. It can't be wrong to give everyone a better impression of Shen Yu. After all, Mr. Shen Yu doesn't understand Japanese, so others will inevitably be a little xenophobic, but Li Xiang doesn't want others to think bad of him, because she thinks Shen Yu is very good, so she does some of the more flattering things in Shen Yu's name.
Chen Yu also followed her in a daze, and until now, he still doesn't know that he became her cheap boyfriend.
"Have you ever received a red envelope yet?" Shen Yu asked.
"No, red envelopes are usually given to primary school students and below. I haven't received a red envelope in a long time!"
Lixiang pouted, feeling that she had grown up and was no longer cute.
"In our place, those who are not married will receive red envelopes. When you come to my house to celebrate the New Year this year, my mother will definitely give you a big red envelope."
"Really! How big is it?"
"Who knows..."
Before I knew it, it had been two hours since I came out, and it was already past five o'clock in the afternoon. I had delivered all the New Year cards to those who could deliver them in person. The rest were far away, so I had to put them in the mailbox and wait for the postman to help deliver them.
"Are you going back?"
"There is another one, it's for Sae-chan! She should be back from get off work."
As she said that, she gave Shen Yu a mysterious look, "Maybe Shen Yu will be shocked when he sees her!"
"She is very pretty?"
"snort… "
Li Xiang sat behind the electric car, hugging Shen Yu's waist, putting her ears behind him, listening to his heartbeat, and asked him:
"Then, Mr. Shen Yu, do you think I look good?"
"You..."
Shen Yu opened his mouth and said casually: "It's just a little bit good-looking, nothing to be proud of."
"A little bit?"
"Well, it's just like a tiny bit of sesame."
Lixiang was very happy because she heard clearly—
The depressed heart was beating wildly.
.
.
(Thanks to Brother Yan for the 10,000 reward~)