"Let's go."

Qu Xiangru's face was expressionless, but her eyes were somewhat weary.

The trip to the Jiang Family had left her physically and mentally exhausted.

If she had a choice, she would never have come back.

Song Guanchao wasn't quite sure what had happened earlier; he only saw that man grabbing Qu Xiangru's hand and reaching towards his crotch.

He knew Qu Xiangru had no fondness for the Jiang Family, and could naturally guess that the Jiang Family, probably, only sought to use her and didn't truly consider her as part of them.

But in his opinion, no matter what, Qu Xiangru was still a legitimate heir of the Jiang Family.

At least, on the surface, shouldn't they pretend?

But today's events shattered his understanding.

There was not the slightest respect for Qu Xiangru from the Jiang Family.

Not only was there no respect, but they even humiliated her!

Song Guanchao suddenly understood why Qu Xiangru had such a personality.

She wasn't born cold and indifferent.

Her indifference was just a protective layer, shielding herself.

Song Guanchao was very angry.

Even Qu Xiangru, who had become a Deputy Governor, was treated this way by the Jiang Family.

When she was weaker, the Jiang Family probably treated her even more unfairly.

He glanced sideways; Qu Xiangru still wore that indifferent expression, showing no trace of emotion.

At 10:30 PM, they entered the village.

From a distance, they saw every household setting off fireworks and firecrackers, ringing in explosions.

Upon entering the village, the smell of fireworks and firecracker smoke was overwhelming, letting Qu Xiangru feel the much-missed atmosphere of the New Year.

Her icy expression softened considerably.

Getting out of the car, she stood at the door, watching the adults from the neighboring household.

The villagers, some with several people in a family, were extremely lively, with some families even having more than a dozen people.

Children wore thick down jackets, jumping happily in front of the fireworks, their chubby little faces were red from the cold, yet refused to go inside.

The village dogs wagged their tails around the crowd, playfully chasing after the kids.

Grandfather and grandmother, seeing the car lights, came out of the house.

Seeing Qu Xiangru, grandmother held her hand joyfully: "Girl, are you staying this time?"

Qu Xiangru rarely showed shyness and said, "I have to stay another night tomorrow."

Tomorrow?

Song Guanchao thought, does this mean she'll leave the day after tomorrow?

But that's grandmother's birthday.

If so, she wouldn't be able to eat cake together.

"Guanchao, go get the firecrackers and fireworks from upstairs."

"Okay."

Song Guanchao went upstairs and brought down a large pile of fireworks and firecrackers.

First, he lit a string of firecrackers, creating a burst of smoke.

Then he lit more firecrackers.

Grandmother, hands clasped inside her sleeves, smiled contentedly: "The New Year is really nice."

Grandfather puffed on his cigarette and suddenly said, "I wonder when we'll be holding a great-grandchild."

Qu Xiangru heard it clearly; although her expression didn't change, her ears were genuinely red.

"Stop with the nonsense."

Grandmother gave him a playful slap.

Song Guanchao also coughed awkwardly, thinking that if they were going to have grandchildren, they'd probably have more than one at a time.

He and several women didn't take precautions, yet none got pregnant.

Grandfather and grandmother started chatting with the neighboring families. Song Guanchao took the chance to sidle up to Qu Xiangru and whispered, "How about we work hard tonight and make one?"

Qu Xiangru scoffed, pausing for a long time before saying, "Wait until you climb up to the Provincial Committee."

Song Guanchao raised an eyebrow, not discouraged but full of confidence: "Alright, I'll strive to enter the Provincial Committee within three years!"

Three years, from Director to Provincial Committee Member!

The Provincial Committee is at least Vice Provincial Level, which is Provincial Ministerial Level!

This rank is a level higher than a Provincial-level post.

It seems there's only a three-tier difference between them.

But each of these three levels is harder than the last.

Crossing three levels in three years is virtually impossible.

"Let's go inside." Song Guanchao was worried she'd catch a cold.

Qu Xiangru glanced at the firecrackers still unused on the ground: "Not setting them off?"

"We'll set them off at midnight when the whole village does. If we finish them now, there'll be none left for later."

"Oh."

The two returned to the living room, while grandfather and grandmother visited neighbors outside.

Song Guanchao was quite curious about the Jiang Family's business, but didn't want to touch on her wounds, so he refrained from asking.

"Do you have plans the day after tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Busy all day?"

"Yes."

Alright, it seems she really can't eat the cake.

After a while, grandfather and grandmother returned, gathering together to watch the Spring Festival Gala.

Qu Xiangru hadn't experienced this kind of atmosphere for many years, and she cozied up on the sofa, feeling at peace.

The thought popped up in her mind, that things seemed pretty good this way.

At this moment, the camera of the Spring Festival Gala swept across the audience.

Grandfather suddenly said, "I was wondering why Little Chizi didn't call to wish me a Happy New Year; turns out he went to the Spring Festival Gala."

Grandmother said, "You're getting forgetful; who wishes Happy New Year on New Year's Eve?"

Qu Xiangru was a bit curious — who is Little Chizi?

Did he go to see the live Spring Festival Gala?

When the clock struck midnight, the host on TV began to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

The first firecracker in the village sounded, followed by fireworks and firecrackers continuously launching into the air, enveloping the small Zhuxi Village in the New Year ambiance.

"Let's go set off the fireworks."

Song Guanchao took Qu Xiangru's small hand and walked outside; Qu Xiangru instinctively wanted to pull back, but his grip was too firm.

So, she followed him outside.

Song Guanchao handed her the lighter. Qu Xiangru repeatedly shook her head, "I'm scared."

"It's alright, just light it."

"This is the first firework of the New Year, to sweep away bad luck."

The first firework of the New Year...

She felt there was more to Song Guanchao's words.

She squatted down, half her body away from the firecrackers, stretching her hand holding the lighter forward.

After lighting it, she hurriedly walked away, but slipped and was about to fall when Song Guanchao quickly caught her, pulling her into his embrace.

Just as she steadied herself, Qu Xiangru saw her grandfather and grandmother stepping out, and quickly left his arms.

With grandmother smiling benevolently, Qu Xiangru's face turned as red as a peach, shy and embarrassed.

Boom!

Fireworks soared, bursting into blossoms.

The New Year had arrived.

After the fireworks, they returned inside.

Grandmother brought clean pajamas, while Song Guanchao fetched clean underwear from the car trunk.

Grandfather's phone rang incessantly, filled with calls wishing him a Happy New Year.

Grandfather put his phone on speaker and placed it on the table.

On the other end, people were constantly calling him "Old Leader," "Old Squad Leader," and said they would visit him tomorrow to wish him a Happy New Year.

Qu Xiangru guessed that grandfather must have served in the army before.

She took the clean clothes and went to take a shower.

When she came out of the shower, only Song Guanchao was left in the living room; she looked around but didn't see grandfather and grandmother.

"They went upstairs to sleep."

Song Guanchao stood up, pointing to a room: "The bed sheets have been changed, you can sleep here."

Qu Xiangru responded with a hum, entered the room, and closed the door.

After washing up, Song Guanchao looked at her room; the door was shut, but the light was still on.

He scratched his head and went back to his own room.

Lying in bed, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

He picked up his phone, considering sending Qu Xiangru a message, but felt that with her personality, she probably wouldn't reply.

Just as he was lost in thought, his phone screen suddenly lit up.

Thinking it might be Qu Xiangru, he opened it to find it was actually Wu Qiangwei.

"Happy New Year."

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