Afternoon.
After lunch.
Dong Xuebin had drunk a little too much. On top of that, he had been holding down the fort at work all morning and was fairly tired, having barely rested at all. When Han Jing saw this, she had Xie Jing help her brother-in-law upstairs to find a room for a nap instead of letting Dong Xuebin stay downstairs. Dong Xuebin did not refuse. He swayed upstairs and slipped into bed. After all, New Year's Eve was really celebrated that night. It was still early.
One hour...
Two hours...
Three hours...
Who knew how long it had been.
Dong Xuebin was jolted awake by bursts of firecracker explosions. The crackling blasts beside his ears startled him so badly that he sprang up from the bed. Looking around, he realized it was already dark. He let out a breath, rubbed his still-throbbing head, got out of bed, and went into the bathroom to wash his face. Naturally, he used cold water. He immediately felt a little more awake and much better.
Whew.
He went downstairs.
It was already past eight. The Spring Festival Gala had started too.
Dong Xuebin picked up his phone and checked it. There were seven or eight missed calls and more than ten text messages. As he headed downstairs, he returned the calls one by one to wish everyone a happy New Year, then sent a few more messages, handling all the New Year greetings as quickly as possible. Actually, some of the calls were from former subordinates he no longer even recognized—perhaps he had simply forgotten them—but he still responded with vague acknowledgments and pretended to know them well enough to muddle through the calls, wishing them a happy New Year and asking after them. Dong Xuebin was not putting on airs; that