The night of New Year's Eve.
"Happy New Year!"
The spacious banquet hall was filled with three large round tables, with the older generation seated in the center, the children on the left, and the grandchildren on the right.
"Wishing grandpa and grandma a long life and good health!"
"Wishing mom and dad success and the fulfillment of their wishes!"
"Okay, okay, okay..."
This was the liveliest year the families had celebrated together, with everyone's smiles shining brightly.
The New Year's Eve dinner was lively and full of cheer.
After eating their fill, the younger generation picked up their juice glasses and lined up to offer their elders their heartfelt New Year's wishes, eagerly receiving thick red envelopes in return.
Even though their families were already far wealthier than most, those symbolic red envelopes were certainly not unwelcome.
"Wow! You're biased, the red envelope you gave to Ruochu is much thicker than ours!"
The elders' smiles faltered for a moment, then they quickly turned away: "Come, come, let's have a drink, let's eat some more..."
Seeing this, Ji Ruochu smiled sweetly: "If you call me 'sister', I'll give you another red envelope."
"Dream on!"
"You wish!"
The group immediately turned their faces, with an expression of "you're out of your mind", but the next moment...
"Here, Ruochu sister, this is your red envelope from your big brother." Jiang Zhi was the first to dig into his pocket and pull out a pre-prepared red envelope, looking quite proud of himself.
"Wow, Jiang Zhi, you're such a—"
"Alright, thank you, big brother Jiang Zhi~" Ji Ruochu accepted it without any sense of being wronged.
Was calling them "big brother" really that hard?
Everyone: ...
"Happy New Year, sister Ruochu." Fang Zhiyuan also smiled as he handed her a red envelope.
"Happy New Year, big brother Zhiyuan~" She sent out another smile with ease.
"Ah! I'm so annoyed! Wait, I'll go get a new red envelope!"
The unprepared ones put down their juice glasses and hurried towards the exit.
The elders present immediately burst into even heartier laughter, truly a group of children who never grew up.
...
Sizzle—
The sparkler was lit.
After dinner, the young people, who had never played with fireworks before, gathered again at the fireworks area.
Clearly, after their first attempt the day before, everyone had completely fallen in love with this activity.
"A bunch of country bumpkins," Qi Yibin sneered, resigned to continuing to light the fireworks for everyone.
"He said you're all country bumpkins!" Ji Ruochu immediately tattled.
The eight people, who were just admiring the fireworks in their hands, all turned their heads in unison: Stare.JPG
Qi Yibin: ...
"Who are you calling country bumpkins, you little crybaby."
"Yeah, you used to cry three times a day when you were little, we didn't discriminate against you for being a man made of water."
"Hey! That's too much!"
Who doesn't have some childhood scandals? Was it necessary to tease them for so many years?
"Ruochu, what are you doing?"
Just as the group was about to descend into a brawl, Fang Zhiyuan, standing five meters away, noticed the issue at hand.
At these words, everyone's attention was immediately diverted.
Jiang Zhi was the first to jump up: "Ji Ruochu! Put down that lighter!"
"Uncle Qi said you're not allowed to play with fire! Have you forgotten when your bangs got singed as a kid?"
"Please, if you lose even one hair today, we'll all be in trouble!"
The group spoke as they quickly strode towards her, but it was already too late.
"Sizzle—"
The small sparkler in her hand was successfully lit, its bright light instantly transforming into a colorful arc as it flew out, making her round fox-like eyes shine even more vividly.
Ji Ruochu turned her head and gave her friends a joyful smile:
"Happy New Year~"
Seeing her mischievous expression, the group paused in their steps, a look of resignation on their faces.
"Enjoy, enjoy, you just stay put, and we'll be even happier!" Jiang Zhi sighed helplessly as he ruthlessly snatched the lighter from her hand.
After her sparkler had gone out, Qi Yibin lit another one for her: "Here, take this and keep playing, tell me what you want to light."
The cold wind blew, causing the loose strands of hair on Ji Ruochu's forehead to sway.
The next moment, a hand gently placed the hood of her down jacket over her head, and Fang Zhiyuan's voice came with a smile: "Go play over there."
The group moved to the river bank, with the three girls surrounded in the middle, two on the left, two on the right, and three more following behind diligently lighting the fireworks.
Until the handheld sparklers they had brought out were all spent, the young men signaled to the bodyguards in the distance, who then lit the grand finale - ten sets of "Thousands of Miles Along the River" fireworks.
Whoosh—
Boom—
Countless points of light soared into the sky, then blossomed into magnificent floral displays.
Ji Ruochu looked up, her short down jacket a vibrant red, a black turtleneck sweater underneath, and a fiery red midi skirt, the golden and silver threads sewn into the fabric shimmering brilliantly in the lamplight, a sight to behold.
Her eyes were filled with laughter, shining even brighter than the fireworks, her gaze seeming to look beyond the fireworks to a more distant place, silently sending out her blessings:
Happy New Year, I'm doing a good job of fulfilling your wishes, may the rest of your life be peaceful and successful, with everything going your way.
[The End]
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