Now that the Qin couple are back, Qin Mingyuan's original plan of spending New Year's Day alone together would naturally turn into a family gathering.
But seeing that Zeng Lianyi and Yun Pei both looked very happy, this little thing was not important.
In order to create a festive atmosphere, the Qin family villa was decorated early. It was decorated in European style, but it was decorated with many things in traditional Chinese style. The red color mixed in was a bit out of place, but it was festive.
The villa, which had been quiet for a while, finally became lively again.
After knowing that Yun Pei was her future "daughter-in-law", Zeng Lianyi treated him with less social etiquette and became closer to him.
After returning that day, he took the other party to the Qin family villa to stay temporarily, saying that Qin Mingyuan was not at home every day because he was at work, and he would be very lonely alone, and the villa would be lively here.
But she also knew her limits. She had agreed with him that she would only stay with them for two or three days, and would let him take him away after New Year's Day, so as not to disrupt their world of two.
What else could Qin Mingyuan say? He could only nod and agree. He would work hard for a while and come over to live here after get off work. Although the journey was a little far, he could still sleep with his wife in his arms and not have to stay alone in an empty room.
He had originally planned to take a day off on New Year's Day, but he was called away for an emergency meeting. He was busy outside for the entire morning and didn't even have time to come back for lunch.
After finally settling the matter and returning to the Qin family villa, Qin Mingyuan sighed in his heart. No wonder Qin Pei became a hands-off boss so early on. It was indeed difficult for him to spend time with his family with peace of mind while managing such a huge Qin family business.
He walked into the villa, took off his coat and handed it to the servant who came to greet him. He changed his shoes and loosened his tie, "Where is Master Yun?"
The servant hung his coat on his arm and said with lowered eyes, "Painting over there by the French window."
The Qin family villa is too big. Even if you are on the same floor, you may not be able to hear the noise at the door.
He nodded to show that he understood, and turned in another direction.
The floor-to-ceiling window the servant mentioned faced the maple forest on the other side of the villa, which was now full of rich colors.
When Qin Mingyuan approached, he saw Yun Pei's quiet back, blending harmoniously into the scenery.
His expression softened a little, and he walked forward lightly, holding the back of the other person's chair, bent down, and kissed him on the forehead, "Dear, I'm back."
Yun Pei paused as he was about to put down his brush, turned his head to meet his gaze, and smiled, "Is the work going well?"
"No big problem." Qin Mingyuan turned to look at the work on his canvas and found that it was basically finished. It had a more artistic conception and beauty than the maple forest outside, and the style was very soft. "Your recent work seems to be a little different."
He didn't quite understand, so he couldn't say anything specific.
"Yeah." Yun Pei nodded in agreement, "It's indeed different."
Perhaps because he is very happy now, the feeling of whitewashing has faded, and more of his true feelings have been integrated.
Occasionally he would create one or two works with gloomy colors. Now he is no longer afraid of being swallowed up by such negative works because his heart is strong enough.
Fans have also noticed his transformation and feel that his works seem to have richer emotions, just like an ethereal "fairy" who is suddenly contaminated by the worldly air and suddenly has seven emotions and six desires, becoming rich and colorful.
Qin Mingyuan did not ask him the reason for this change. He knew it very well. He kissed the other's cheek again and said, "I like it no matter how you draw it."
Yun Pei smiled with his eyes curved, "Is this what you call a boyfriend filter?"
"You can say that." Qin Mingyuan did not refute him. "You continue painting first. I'll go upstairs and change my clothes."
Yun Pei nodded and let him go.
After everyone left, he looked at the almost finished work on the canvas, added the last bit of red from the maple leaves, thought for a moment, picked up a thinner brush, and mixed other colors.
However, with just a few strokes, four small, blurry figures appeared in front of the maple forest. Although their faces could not be seen clearly, they could all be matched.
Yun Pei held the pen and looked at it for a while, adjusted the color, and added a lower-saturation figure on the clouds in the sky. If you don't look carefully, you may even miss it.
But he was very satisfied and finally put down his paintbrush.
“Oh, it’s so beautiful!”
He heard a voice of praise behind him. He turned around and saw Zeng Lianyi walking over with a cup in her hand. She bent down slightly to admire his painting. "Xiao Pei drew a family portrait for us."
Yun Pei was stunned for a moment. Family portrait… These three words made people feel warm.
The corners of his mouth curved up again, "Then let's call this painting a family portrait."
"Okay." Zeng Lianyi nodded happily, "I'll have someone hang it in the living room where it can be seen at a glance."
Yun Pei had no objection and returned his gaze to the painting, "Okay."
"Here," Zeng Lianyi handed him the cup, "This is the milk tea made in the kitchen. Auntie needs to take care of her figure, so Xiao Pei, drink a little more for me."
Yun Pei has gotten used to her feeding him these past two days, so he took it naturally. "You are in such good shape, there is no need for management."
"Our little Pei has such a sweet mouth~" Zeng Lianyi pinched his cheek easily.
Yun Pei let her pinch him twice before he smiled and drank some milk tea. It was very sweet and warm.
"What are you talking about? You look so happy." Qin Mingyuan, who had changed into comfortable home clothes, walked over and looked at the two of them.
Zeng Lianyi shook her finger at him and said, "This is our little secret, so I won't tell you."
"Okay, I won't ask." Qin Mingyuan cooperated and didn't ask any more questions. When he walked to the young man, he smelled a strong aroma of milk tea, "Where did the milk tea come from?"
"It's made in the kitchen. It tastes great. Would you like to try it?" Yun Pei handed the cup to him.
Qin Mingyuan didn't like sweets very much, but he still bent down, held his hand holding the cup and took a sip.
"Click."
Zeng Lianyi froze the scene in front of her on the screen of her mobile phone. When they heard the sound and turned around to look at her, she waved happily and turned to leave, "I won't disturb your world of two here."
They both looked at each other and smiled at the same time.
"Auntie has a really nice personality." Yun Pei had never met someone as lively and cheerful as her before. Sometimes he even didn't feel that she was an elder, but a little girl.
Perhaps it is precisely because of this bright and colorful personality that she attracts more serious people like Uncle Qin.
Qin Mingyuan touched his head and looked at the painting in front of him. "Is it finished?"
"Um."
"Then let's go. I'll take you to wash your hands." When the young man handed him the milk tea, he saw the paint on his hands.
Yun Pei nodded, took another sip of milk tea, and temporarily put it on the small table next to him.
Qin Mingyuan accompanied him to the bathroom and personally washed off the strong colored paints, and his hands became as white as before.
He stared at those hands, not knowing what was in his mind. His eyes became a little dim, and he lowered his head to kiss the still wet fingertips.
"What's wrong?" Yun Pei looked at him.
"Nothing," Qin Mingyuan's fingers gently stroked his, his voice a little deep, "I just think these hands are very suitable whether holding a paintbrush or other things."
Yun Pei was stunned for a moment, and his ears turned red when he understood what was going on. He pulled his hand away abruptly, walked around the other person and walked out of the bathroom where the temperature had risen a little.
Qin Mingyuan looked at his fleeing back and smiled. In his mind was the ring that the young man had specially asked the other person to wear on his finger when he helped him once, and the bright colors that flashed.
As evening approached, Zeng Lianyi became interested and had a sudden idea to make dumplings. However, she felt that it would not be ceremonial to have the kitchen make them for her, so she had to do it herself to fit in with the festive atmosphere.
No one objected to her enthusiasm, but for the sake of their own taste buds, they finally let the chef prepare the filling and dough, and they could just start cooking.
At the very least, the dumplings made in this way may look ugly, but they will definitely not taste bad.
Among the four people, only Qin Pei had some experience in making dumplings, and that was many years ago, but he was still better than the other three complete novices.
He is responsible for rolling out the dough. The shape is not very regular, but it is usable.
After teaching them twice and seeing that they gradually got the hang of it and could barely produce a finished product, Qin Pei focused on rolling out the dough and let them do what they wanted.
Unexpectedly, the person who made the best dumplings among the few people turned out to be the dark cuisine master Zeng Lianyi.
She is a bit of a perfectionist. As a designer, her pursuit of beauty has reached the extreme. She can allow the works produced by her hands to be unpalatable, but she will never allow them to be ugly.
With her professional dignity at stake, the dumplings she made were all perfectly shaped, white and plump, and looked beautiful when placed together.
The second is Yun Pei. Although he doesn’t pursue perfection as much as Zeng Lianyi, at least his dumplings look pretty good and are very regular.
Qin Mingyuan, who was standing last in line, looked at the half-finished product in his hand and said that people who study art may have some talent in this area.
"Look, this is what excellence is." Zeng Lianyi proudly showed off her work.
Everyone applauded in unison.
Putting down the dumpling in her hand, Zeng Lianyi took another dumpling wrapper. Instead of stuffing it with stuffing, she took a small tomato from the table and put it in. She said, "There is a saying that whoever eats this special thing will have good luck for the whole year. Let's see who is the lucky one today."
She put the wrapped dumplings down and mixed them in with the pile of dumplings, looking no different.
The plate in front of her was full, so she picked it up and prepared to carry it to the kitchen herself.
Qin Mingyuan patted the flour on his hands, stood up and caught up with her, taking the large plate of dumplings from her hand, "I'll go, Mom."
Zeng Lianyi paused, turned to look at him, looking a little bewildered, "Strange, why haven't I heard you call me mom for a long time..."
Qin Mingyuan was slightly stunned. He just blurted out what he said subconsciously...
His hand holding the tray tightened slightly, but his expression was very natural, "Maybe it's because you haven't seen me for a long time."
"That's right," Zeng Lianyi didn't take it to heart, raised her hand and patted his arm, "All the work abroad has been handled, and I only need to go there occasionally. The rest of the time I'll be in China. We won't see each other for a long time."
Qin Mingyuan lowered his eyes and looked at her. He was silent for a while before retracting his gaze and answering, "... Yeah."
During dinner, the dumplings they made were placed among a wide variety of dishes, steaming hot, instantly creating a festive atmosphere.
When they got together on such a day, everyone was in high spirits. Zeng Lianyi even asked someone to open a bottle of red wine, insisting that everyone should drink it.
But she specifically told Yun Pei to just take a sip and not drink too much. "Cheers!"
The wine glasses clinked together with a crisp sound, and the dark red wine swayed slightly, as if celebrating the joy.
The food was delicious and the dumplings tasted good too. Although they were of different shapes, the fillings were made by the chef after all.
Yun Pei had just finished eating the one in the bowl when the man next to him picked up another one and gave it to him.
He smiled, picked it up and put it in his mouth. It tasted strong of tomato, so he took it away.
"Wow, Xiao Pei, you are the lucky star today. You will have good luck all year round." Zeng Lianyi raised her glass to him with a smile across the table.
"Thank you, Auntie." Yun Pei smiled and half lowered his eyes. In fact, he saw everything just now. The other party gestured to the man to give this one to him.
Although he was not really chosen by God, this kindness was the greatest luck for him.
Qin Mingyuan raised his hand and pinched the back of his neck. He knew that the young man had discovered it.
They had a lively meal for more than two hours. After the meal, they moved to the living room, turned on the TV to play the New Year's Eve program as background music, and sat together to eat some fruit and chat.
Zeng Lianyi told them a lot of interesting things that happened when she held shows abroad, and time passed by unknowingly.
It was not until Uncle Wu came over to remind them that they realized it was almost midnight.
"Let's go, let's go out and set off the fireworks!" Zeng Lianyi stood up excitedly, full of energy like a young man.
The fireworks were bought in advance in the morning, and there were all kinds of models. By the time they put on their thick clothes and went out, the servants had already helped to set them up, and they just needed to light them.
"Baby, go light that and show it to Xiao Pei." Zeng Lianyi pushed her son and pointed at a package with a heart drawn on it, which looked like romantic fireworks.
Qin Mingyuan turned around and saw Yun Pei also smiling at him, so he stepped over.
The servant handed him the lit incense. Qin Mingyuan took it and put it on the wick. Sparks started to burn, but he did not flee like the others. Instead, he turned around and walked away slowly.
With a "bang", dazzling fireworks erupted from behind him, rushed straight into the sky and exploded, revealing a red heart.
Yun Pei's upturned face was reflected red, and fireworks bloomed in his eyes.
Qin Mingyuan stood beside him, raised his hand to hold the back of his wheelchair, and admired the scenery with him.
He started the fireworks and the rest were lit one after another. The sky above the Qin family villa was bustling with endless colors overlapping each other.
When the time passed midnight, Zeng Lianyi clapped her hands, took out two red envelopes from her pocket and handed them to them, "Happy New Year!"
I thought it was for both of them, but she handed both red envelopes to Yun Pei, "That guy earns more than me, so I won't give it to him."
He was stunned. “Aren’t red envelopes given out only during the Lunar New Year? And... I’m this old already.” Yu Xi stood at attention.
"No matter how old you are, you are still a little treasure in the eyes of our elders. Take it quickly." Zeng Lianyi simply stuffed it into his arms, "I will give you both the New Year's red envelope and the red envelope for meeting the parents."
Yun Pei blushed, feeling too embarrassed to refuse. "Thank you, Auntie. Happy New Year."
"Good boy." Zeng Lianyi patted his head, glanced at the son who had been staring at her, and tactfully dragged their old Qin away, "I'm old and can't stand the night, you young people can have fun."
The red envelope didn't feel thick in his hand, but Yun Pei knew that given the other party's personality, it would definitely be a lot of money. He might have directly stuffed a check in it. The red envelope suddenly felt a little hot in his hand.
Seeing his dilemma, Qin Mingyuan squatted down and pressed his hand holding the red envelope, "Just take it with confidence. I'll give you another one later."
Yun Pei raised his eyes and glared at him, "Don't join in the fun anymore."
Qin Mingyuan chuckled. The fireworks had not stopped yet. They were reflected in his eyes, surrounding the other person's figure. "Okay, anyway, my money will be your money in the future."
The red cloud on Yun Pei's face that had just faded became bright again. He looked at the fireworks in the other's eyes and himself, and took his hand that was pressing on his own with his backhand, interlocking their fingertips, "Qin Mingyuan, thank you for loving me... I love you too."
Qin Mingyuan was stunned and looked at him for a while, then suddenly leaned over and kissed his lips that had spoken such sweet words, a feeling that made him intoxicated.
The fireworks are still blooming vigorously, but no one is enjoying them.
They are the most beautiful scenery in each other's eyes.
(End of this chapter)