The newly - wedded couple had only been intimate for a short while when Ding Ruola's phone started to ring.
"Who is it!"
After answering the call, Ding Ruola became furtive. She made a shushing gesture at the phone screen.
"Ruoruo, Mom understands you!"
Before she could even find her earphones, her mother had already started talking.
"Mom! How are you and Dad doing?"
Fang Siyan moved closer to Ding Ruola and put his arm around her. Ding Ruola leaned into Fang Siyan's embrace.
"Siyan, Ruoruo hasn't done anything bad, has she?"
He glanced at the woman on the screen and then looked at the girl in his arms.
Ding Ruola kept winking at her mother. There must be some secret between them.
Actually, just moments ago, Ding Ruola had told her mother that she wanted to spend the New Year with Fang Siyan. But feeling shy, she shifted the blame onto her parents.
She never expected her mother to call so soon.
Her mother was really something. She said whatever came to her mind in front of Fang Siyan. The secret agreement between mother and daughter was instantly broken.
"Oh! You're a young couple now. If you want to spend the New Year together, I won't stop you. Look at this girl, Ruoruo."
Ding Ruola blushed as red as a monkey's butt. She wriggled out of Fang Siyan's arms and hid in the bathroom.
The bathroom had excellent sound insulation. Unable to hear what her mother and Fang Siyan were saying, she grew impatient. So she cracked the door open a bit and pressed her ear against it to eavesdrop.
Fang Siyan looked back at Ding Ruola's comical appearance.
"Baby, come out."
He swaggered into the bathroom. Ding Ruola's face flushed again. She rushed to the sink and splashed water on her face.
The water from the faucet was still cold.
The cold water stung her delicate skin, making her face even redder.
"The company will be on full holiday tomorrow. Let's go buy some New - Year goods when we're off."
Buying New - Year goods could be done by anyone. Fang Siyan didn't have to do it himself, but the New Year was all about the atmosphere.
After seeing Bi Shuang off, Ding Ruola met Fang Siyan at the agreed - upon place.
"The meat in the fresh - produce section is good."
Streaky pork was perfect for making dumplings. After buying the meat, Fang Siyan also bought a piece of pigskin. Ding Ruola was a bit confused about what this man was up to.
"Dumplings with lotus root and minced meat?"
Fang Siyan remembered that when Ding Ruola was a child, her favorite were dumplings with lotus root and minced meat. But now he wasn't sure. Maybe her taste had changed.
Ding Ruola nodded quickly.
The lotus roots were covered in mud. After Ding Ruola picked them out, she unconsciously touched her nose.
When she least expected it, Fang Siyan took out his phone and secretly snapped a photo. Then he thoughtfully wiped the stain off the girl's nose with a tissue.
After they got home, Ding Ruola could only sit on the side and watch Fang Siyan bustling around.
Bored, she scrolled through her WeChat Moments.
Rarely seen, Fang Siyan had actually posted on his Moments.
There was no caption, just a photo, the one he had secretly taken of Ding Ruola just now.
Fang Siyan was naturally meticulous. He had blocked all the people he needed to block. She saw a very familiar WeChat name - Liuchu.
This was Gu Qianxue's WeChat nickname.
Liuchu was another name for snow.
Ding Ruola was initially a bit touched, but when she saw this name, she felt a bit uncomfortable.
She thought of Gu Qianxue's family background and the ambiguous words Deng Lirong had said.
"Ruoruo, turn on the TV and all the lights in the room."
These were all old - fashioned New - Year customs. Even as a new youth in the 21st century, these lively traditions should still be observed.
Burning cypress leaves was out of the question. The house couldn't withstand such a mess.
The Spring Festival Gala was just background noise. Ding Ruola was busy replying to New - Year greetings.
"You haven't even greeted me."
Fang Siyan watched Ding Ruola typing away on her phone non - stop. He felt secretly annoyed.
When had Professor Fang ever been reduced to being jealous of a phone?
After Ding Ruola had replied to most of the messages, she leaned into Fang Siyan's arms and watched the Spring Festival Gala.
"Old Fang, we've been together for so long!"
It had been half a year. Ding Ruola had never dared to imagine that she would be sitting with Fang Siyan like this.
The music on TV drowned out their conversation.
They were whispering sweet nothings to each other.
Sparse sounds of fireworks could be heard outside the window. The host on TV began the countdown.
The moment they reached one, the whole city seemed to wake up instantly.
The sounds of firecrackers and fireworks filled the air. But different from before, these were all electronic firecrackers and wouldn't cause much pollution.
The two stood on the balcony. After watching the fireworks, Ding Ruola was completely exhausted.
Well - fed and content, one's thoughts turn to love.
They went back to the room. While Fang Siyan was just going out to turn off the lights and the TV, Ding Ruola had already fallen asleep in bed.
Early on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Ding Ruola paid New - Year greetings to both sets of parents.
Unexpectedly, instead of good news at the start of the new year, she received some tragic news.
Su Rou had cancelled the order. Ding Ruola thought it was because she had done a poor job and her design had fallen through.
She was just about to contact Mei Xuejian to inquire about Su Rou's situation when Mei Xuejian called her.
"It's not your fault. There's something wrong on Su Rou's side."
Mei Xuejian didn't explain clearly. The rest was left for Ding Ruola to guess.
Naturally, she couldn't figure it out. So she could only pester Fang Siyan.
Fang Siyan wasn't very concerned about the Su family's affairs. But seeing Ding Ruola's persistent look, he had his assistant look into the whole story of Su Rou.
"Are you sure you want to hear this?"
The results from the assistant weren't good. Fang Siyan didn't really want to tell Ding Ruola.
But curiosity killed the cat!
Ding Ruola insisted on hearing it. Fang Siyan had no choice but to skip the middle part and tell Ding Ruola the final result.
"Su Rou attempted suicide but failed."
It was like a thunderbolt. She swallowed hard and grabbed Fang Siyan's arm to calm herself down.
"So, at first, she was trying to ask for help!"
Ding Ruola's mind worked quickly at this critical moment. She stared at Fang Siyan. She knew that no matter what the man said next, she couldn't change the fact that she had ignored a person's call for help.
"Ruoruo, listen to me. Su Rou is fine now. Calm down."
He stood up, wrapped Ding Ruola in his arms, and stroked the girl's back.
Fang Siyan knew that Mei Xuejian was also aware of this matter, so he didn't pay too much attention to it.
Moreover, the Mei family and the Su family were on good terms. It wasn't appropriate for him to interfere.
He never expected such a tragedy to occur.
Ding Ruola was absent - minded all day. Finally, she decided to make that evening dress and give it to Su Rou.
Later, Mei Xuejian sent a message to Ding Ruola.
[Xuejian: Su Rou is fine. Don't worry.]
Ding Ruola looked at the message on the screen. The knot in her heart finally loosened.
Life or love, which one should be pursued?
To help Ding Ruola relax, Fang Siyan booked tickets to Hainan.
Going on a vacation in Hainan this season was still a great choice.
The only drawback was that there were a bit too many people. This high volume of tourists couldn't be solved just by having money.
Ding Ruola and Fang Siyan spent the three - day Spring Festival holiday in a hotel in Hainan.