Continuation 6: Bet You Didn't Expect This

Zhong Qing was not surprised to see Liu Chang'an here. Wherever he appeared, he could fit in with the surrounding environment and atmosphere in a way that was either appropriate or contrasting.

The white wreaths, piles of paper money with copper coin prints, banknotes from the underworld bank, paper houses of all sizes, rings of red firecrackers, Liu Chang'an's tall figure, and the faint smile on his face, all combined to create a scene resembling a folk painting.

Despite the many labels that signify the passing of life and the end of one's life, his lush, verdant, and vibrant spirit, like that of a forest, cannot be diminished.

Zhong Qing remembered that time she met him buying vegetables on the old street. Later, she was almost hit by an electric bike, and he pulled her into his arms around her waist. She smelled his scent. That was the feeling.

Thinking of this, Zhong Qing unconsciously raised her hand and pressed her waist, which felt slightly tingly.

"Liu Chang'an!" Before Zhong Qing could even greet him, Bai Hui couldn't contain herself and ran a few steps, then hopped and waved.

Zhong Qing was a little puzzled. His little cousin was bound to be happy to run into Liu Chang'an, but wasn't her immediate enthusiasm a bit too unreserved?

Generally speaking, girls with a personality like Bai Hui are particularly careful not to let the other person discover their feelings when they have a crush on someone. They are always reserved and carefully hide their feelings.

"It's Xiong Da and Xiong Er!" Liu Chang'an laughed, looking at his cousins standing under the shops on both sides of the street.

The snow in the middle of the street was pushed to both sides and piled up in front of the shops. It was a bit black and gray, and the melting snow water flowed around it dirty. Everywhere felt damp and cold. The two sisters were wearing coats, but underneath they were wearing thin and light-looking round-neck shirts.

The decisive influence of maternal genes on physical attributes makes the cousins Zhong Qing and Bai Hui very similar in physique, although Zhong Qing is ultimately more mature.

"What are you doing here?" Liu Chang'an walked over and stood with them.

"My home is nearby, and it's not far from our usual barbecue place. It's just a few minutes' drive from here," Bai Hui quickly explained. "What are you doing here?"

"Buy more powerful fireworks and cannons." Because many people still buy fireworks and cannons to take back to their hometowns to pay respects to their relatives. In many towns and rural areas outside the city, there are still ancestral graves in the mountains and fields, where there are no restrictions on setting off fireworks and cannons.

"We're also here to buy some firecrackers. My dad and his brother died last year, so this year is a relatively important memorial service. My mom said we still have to put on a show," Zhong Qing said calmly. People are dead, so the hatred has faded, but the feelings have naturally become even more indifferent.

Liu Chang'an nodded to indicate that he understood. Zhong Qing's father was the kind of trashy person who would eat, drink, and have fun while beating his wife. He would beat his wife whenever he had nothing to do with her, and he would even complain that his wife hadn't given him a son.

Judging from Zhong Qing's appearance and figure, her mother must have been a beauty in her youth.

"Actually, I don't think it's necessary. It would be better to cut off all contact from now on, as if we never knew those people," Bai Hui said indignantly. "It's just that he died too young. He should have seen more of his cousin's life. We could have built a high-rise next to his house, and had luxury cars parked in front of his house every day, making that gambler green with envy."

"What's so great about me?" Zhong Qing teased. "I'm not as great as you. You've even bought your own house, while I haven't even bought one yet."

Bai Hui felt a little embarrassed, but then she remembered that she had money in her account, which was ultimately related to Liu Chang'an. From Gold Coin to stock trading, everything was related to him. Thinking about this, she felt a little sweet inside and couldn't help but look at Liu Chang'an with soft eyes.

Zhong Qing noticed Bai Hui's gaze, but without staring at her closely, he was certain with just that one glance: was his little cousin having an affair with Liu Chang'an?

This was completely unreserved, as if she didn't care at all that Liu Chang'an knew she liked him. Zhong Qing thought to herself, and casually asked Liu Chang'an, "Did you and Bai Hui agree to meet here?"

"No! Didn't you drag me here to keep you company?" Bai Hui quickly explained, lest her cousin misunderstand that she and Liu Chang'an had some kind of ambiguous relationship.

"It's better to meet by chance than to arrange it. We can browse coffin shops and funeral supply stores together. You can ask me what kind of relationship you have with the person you're mourning and what quality of funeral supplies you should buy. I know exactly what to recommend," Liu Chang'an warmly invited.

"You... if we're shopping, you won't want to accompany me... us." Bai Hui said coquettishly, how annoying, always talking nonsense about such unreliable things. If they met in the mall, he wouldn't say such things.

"You seem to have plenty of free time, why don't you come with us?" Zhong Qing gently tugged at Liu Chang'an's clothes.

Liu Chang'an thought for a moment and realized he had nothing to do that afternoon, then nodded.

Bai Hui hopped around Zhong Qing's arm, looking a little happy.

The local custom is that people who have passed away this year are worshipped starting on New Year's Eve. Relatives and friends will come to set off firecrackers and bring some fruit as a token of sympathy. Close friends and relatives will come on New Year's Eve and continue until the seventh or eighth day of the Lunar New Year.

After finishing the worship, Bai Hui, who had been looking at her like an enemy, came out and asked curiously, "Why are they all so well-behaved? I thought they would jump up and start cursing my cousin without any explanation. It was like that before. I heard my mother say that when Auntie first went to Taiwan, the Zhong Family would often pick fights for no reason and say nasty things to her, even my mother would curse them."

"Ordinary people are the most pragmatic. Your sister is quite wealthy now. If they knew more about her, they would know she has a wide network of connections. The person is already dead. Why offend Zhong Qing for the sake of Zhong Qing father? It's not worth it. Her uncles and elders all have their own lives and families. Who would be so foolish as to offend Zhong Qing? What good would it do?" Liu Chang'an said calmly. "When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out, leaving behind a wisp of smoke, which will dissipate in the blink of an eye."

"In my memory... I thought they would beat and curse at people, chasing after my cousin and beating her up... so I'm a little relieved that Liu Chang'an came." Bai Hui nodded in understanding.

"That's something they create in novels, movies, and TV dramas to generate conflict... It happens in real life too, but not often... Unless Zhong Qing is someone they can beat or scold at will, then they have a lot more courage." Liu Chang'an noticed that Zhong Qing's mood seemed a bit affected, and patted Zhong Qing on the shoulder, "Go get two bottles of wine, go back to the hotel room and have a drink with Bai Hui."

"Would you like to drink with us?" Bai Hui asked Liu Chang'an with a charmingly innocent look.

Zhong Qing rolled her eyes at her little cousin. Two women were drinking in a hotel room, and she wanted to invite a man to drink with them behind closed doors? What was she thinking?

Trusting Liu Chang'an's character is one thing, but as a girl, you should have some self-respect. This invitation is practically saying, "I'll get drunk later and see if you're a beast or worse."

"You're really good at giving advice," Zhong Qing said to Liu Chang'an playfully, then playfully hit Bai Hui, reminding her, "I'm having New Year's Eve dinner at Bai Hui's house tonight; I'm not staying at a hotel."

"Oh right, I forgot." Bai Hui touched the spot where Zhong Qing had hit her, remembering with some regret, "Mom said I should come home early tonight and asked me to help make dumplings... How strange, eating dumplings during the New Year, like northerners."

"Dumplings are a global food; Italy, Ukraine, and Russia all have a tradition of eating them. In our country, they're eaten in both the north and south, but they hold a more important place in the north, considered the most important food during the Lunar New Year," Liu Chang'an said with a touch of nostalgia. "Nothing tastes better than dumplings."

"If you didn't say that last sentence, it would be a pretty proper science explanation." Zhong Qing laughed.

"Cousin, why are you saying such dirty things? He didn't mean it that way at all!" Bai Hui said reproachfully.

"What's the problem?" Liu Chang'an looked at Zhong Qing and Bai Hui with a puzzled expression, his clear eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

"Ah... you know, that thing where nothing tastes better than dumplings, and it's... fun and stuff..." Bai Hui wanted to maintain her image, but seeing Liu Chang'an's dark and clear eyes, she couldn't help but remind him.

"Oh, I see. Nothing tastes better than dumplings, and nothing's more fun than Bai Hui." Liu Chang'an nodded and laughed twice.

"You... you're kidding me!" Bai Hui was both embarrassed and annoyed. This person was really putting on a convincing act; she really thought he didn't know anything.

"I'm just teasing you because it's fun." When Liu Chang'an said "fun," he only meant that; there was no other meaning.

"Sigh, it's really hard not to take your bait." Zhong Qing nodded with a double meaning. Even she had been fooled by Liu Chang'an's eyes for a moment, but she quickly and rationally judged that Liu Chang'an couldn't possibly be unaware of such common lewd talk.

My little cousin is so silly, it's really funny, that's why she fell for his tricks.

"I'm off, I'm going to buy a rocket." Liu Chang'an, preoccupied with his spiral ascent performance, turned around, waved goodbye to the two sisters, and parted ways.