After Christmas, New Year's Day came in quick succession. The girls in Jiang Yuan's dormitory planned to play mahjong all night and then go for a hot pot meal.
Jiang Yuan said she would join them, even though she had never played mahjong before.
Su Kexin, with a facial mask on, leaned back on the stool and turned to ask her, "Yuanyuan, aren't you going to ring in the New Year with Chi Xu? Are you really going to play mahjong with us?"
"He agreed. He'll come and play mahjong with us then. Of course, he'll just watch," Jiang Yuan said, waving her WeChat chat interface with a beaming smile.
On Christmas night, Chi Xu found out that she had removed the block on him.
It was a Christmas gift for him.
Six days passed in a blink of an eye. They booked a mahjong private room near the school in advance. Skipping dinner, they strolled over slowly.
Chi Xu went with them.
When they arrived, Lin Suye and the others went to the front desk to redeem the coupon.
Chi Xu stood beside Jiang Yuan. Seeing that her scarf was a bit messy, he bent down and carefully tidied it up for her.
"Aren't you going to be bored coming with me?" Jiang Yuan asked. "You'd better go to the internet café with Jia Fang and the others to ring in the New Year than just watch me play mahjong here."
"This is our first New Year's Eve since we reunited. I said I'd always be with you," Chi Xu said, looking down, and he was putting into action the promise he made on Christmas.
Jiang Yuan laughed. This wasn't exactly the way she thought of for him to accompany her.
After they redeemed the coupon, the time they booked was from 9 p.m. on December 31st to 2 a.m. of the new day, a full five hours.
After playing mahjong, they would go for hot pot with a 31% discount for students.
The four of them used dice to choose their seats, and Yu Huan began to explain the rules. They were playing Hong Zhong mahjong. The "Zhong" tile could substitute for any other tile. Whether it was a straight or a pong, they had to keep a pair. They could only pong but not chow.
The only way to win was by self - drawing.
Lin Suye distributed the chips. Each person got 500.
It sounded simple, but it wasn't easy to play.
For three rounds in a row, Jiang Yuan kept losing. She played mahjong with a long face.
Chi Xu sat beside her. He was only allowed to watch and not give any advice.
He was a perfect boyfriend, whole - heartedly accompanying his "girlfriend", comforting her, and not even touching his phone.
"It's okay, Yuanyuan. You'll definitely get better cards in the next round."
"Wow, Yuanyuan, you're so amazing! You even got a kong. Hurry up and collect the money."
"Yuanyuan, you're definitely going to win this time. The cards are great. If you don't win, it's like God is against you."
"Please bless the Hong Zhong tile, please bless the Hong Zhong tile, please bless the Hong Zhong tile..." Jiang Yuan only needed one more mahjong tile to win. She nervously reached out to pick one up, closing her eyes slightly and mumbling.
Her palm touched the cold mahjong tile. She took a deep breath, quickly pulled it back, and covered it on the table. Her heart was pounding.
She carefully opened her eyes a crack, and the bright red color rushed into her sight.
Jiang Yuan was stunned for a moment. She suddenly lifted the Hong Zhong tile. With a "clatter" sound, she pushed away the mahjong tiles and excitedly shouted, "Hong Zhong! I win this round!"
"Yuanyuan, pick a bird and see how many you get," Su Kexin reminded her.
She quickly reached out and picked four, and they all matched.
Lin Suye let out a cry of surprise and stared at the matching mahjong tiles in disbelief. She murmured, "It can't be. How can you get them all right at once? Your luck is just off the charts."
She had won back most of what she had lost before.
"Chi Xu, Chi Xu, look! I got them all right," Jiang Yuan turned her head, her face beaming with the simplest and purest joy. She happily grabbed his arm and shook it back and forth, her eyes shining.
Chi Xu smiled silently. The tenderness in his eyes was almost about to turn into a stream. He lovingly tucked a wisp of her hair behind her ear.
"I said you'd win, and you'd win big."
"Come on, you two. Stop showing off your love in front of us. We all know you won," Su Kexin said with a mock gag.
Jiang Yuan was so annoyed that she stood up and playfully slapped her. It was a gentle tap, like a feather brushing against her.
They shuffled the cards again and started the next round.
Maybe it was because it was her first win, but after that, her luck really turned bad. She kept losing, and the number of her chips visibly decreased. Jiang Yuan's smile became more and more forced.
After losing another round, Jiang Yuan was like a deflated balloon. She said dejectedly, "Chi Xu, play a round for me."
"What if I lose too?" Chi Xu asked.
"It doesn't matter. I lose when I play, and you might lose too. Maybe you'll have better luck than me."
Jiang Yuan and Chi Xu swapped seats. She watched Chi Xu play mahjong. The cards he got on his first draw were really bad. She could almost predict the outcome. She watched him listlessly.
But with such a bad hand, Chi Xu managed to turn the situation around.
Jiang Yuan's eyes widened more and more. She held her breath, her heart in her throat. Unconsciously, she grabbed the corner of her clothes and kneaded it hard.
When he self - drew the winning tile, Jiang Yuan immediately let out a cheer. Overjoyed, she threw her arms around Chi Xu's neck and shook him vigorously. "You won! You actually won! You really won!"
"Yes, I won," Chi Xu was startled by her sudden hug, but he quickly recovered and gently patted the girl's back.
Yu Huan looked at the over - excited Jiang Yuan speechlessly and said sourly, "Oh, I wish I had a boyfriend too."
"Yeah, we should just feed Jiang Yuan some more lovey - dovey stuff. It'll be enough for her," Lin Suye chimed in.
Su Kexin propped her chin on one hand and looked down at Chi Xu's cards. She said excitedly, "Have you noticed? Chi Xu's cards are all pairs. That's so awesome. If it were me, I'd definitely want to pong."
Lin Suye and Yu Huan, who had different focuses: "..."
As they played on, it suddenly started to snow outside. At first, it was just a fine drizzle of snow, but then it gradually got bigger, like goose feathers floating in the night sky.
As the new year was approaching, fireworks were being set off in the sky one after another. They were colorful and extremely beautiful.
The five of them temporarily stopped playing mahjong and all went downstairs. They looked up at the snowflakes in the sky.
Not far away, there was a big screen showing the countdown. A crowd had gathered below. They didn't hold umbrellas and let the snowflakes fall on their heads. They nervously and excitedly counted down along with the big screen.
"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!"
"Happy New Year!"
A cluster of fireworks streaked across the dark night sky and bloomed in brilliant colors. Then, one after another, more fireworks shot up into the sky, becoming more and more beautiful.
Six words appeared on the high - rise buildings on both sides of the big screen.
"Happy New Year, Yuanyuan."
The shattered fireworks and those six words fell into Jiang Yuan's eyes. She stared blankly, overwhelmed by a huge surprise like a tidal wave.
She was so happy that she didn't know what to do for a moment.
The boy slightly hooked his lips and looked down at her. His eyes were full of affection as he read the words on the high - rise buildings to her.
"Happy New Year, Yuanyuan."