"We've already bought plenty of groceries today."
"It's not that much."
Night had fallen, and the vegetable markets had long since closed. Only the city's supermarkets still had vegetables they could choose from, but even so, Tong Yao and Qian Wanyu had arrived a step too late. The supermarket was bustling, its Christmas trees and Santa hats practically looted clean. The two of them had nearly missed Christmas altogether because they were busy with work.
"Honestly, Seventh Sister, how could you not remind me about such an important holiday?"
Ever since Tong Yao had become an amateur artist, her sense of holidays and days off had grown particularly hazy. With Situ Xu constantly hounding her for artwork, she had accidentally worked herself into a frenzy and even forgotten Qian Le Le's birthday.
Mother Tong and her younger boyfriend had happily gone abroad on vacation. Apparently, it was snowing there now, draping everything in silver and turning the whole world white. It was supposed to be beautiful.
Qian Wanyu listened silently as Tong Yao chattered away, picking out vegetables that still looked fresh while complaining about her.
On Christmas a year ago, she had been sitting in an ambulance with her swollen belly. Snow had swirled outside, and the cars on the road had crawled along like turtles, inching forward bit by bit. Even the ambulance was no exception. She still remembered that when the little one came out, the time had stopped at precisely 23:59:59. No one had managed to check the time then, because Qian Le Le's sudden arrival had drawn everyone's attention. Only later, while looking through her phone, had Tong Yao found the call she had hung up on.
"These vegetables are enough. We won't be able to finish them anyway. Should we order Le Le a