Qi Lei raised his glass and stared silently at the glass which was full of wine as he spoke in his bold voice, “This is the most desolate year that I’ve ever had. Without any thoughts or expectations, I’m just sitting down here in peace and drinking this wine.” As soon as he was done speaking, he lifted his head and emptied the glass within two gulps. At the same time, it was not hard to capture the hint of melancholy on his attractive face.

Dongfang Liuyun gazed at him without uttering a word. After she watched him place the empty glass aside, she reached for the jug and refilled his glass.

“While your circumstances might still be the same year after year, your companion has changed. Let your obsessions go. God didn’t grant you life just for you to waste it wallowing in self-pity. You have to actualize the value of your existence. As for the intangible that’s beyond our control, we can only take it as it comes.” Her delicate voice was like a cool breeze brushing through a bamboo forest, and listening to her brought one into a trance.

Dongfang Liuyun’s eyes lost its shine in an instant as she lectured Qi Lei, and he seemed to have failed to capture a glimpse of any emotions that were lingering in her dark pupils.

She also picked up her wine and made a gesture of proposing a toast. Then, she gulped the whole glass in one go. As soon as the warm wine entered her stomach, a gush of warmth swept through her body, making the chill wrapping her body gradually dissipate, and her whole body started to feel flushed.

Just as Dongfang Liuyun finished talking, Qi Lei paused for a moment. He then turned his head and glanced at her. Before he could say something, there was already the sound of doors opening from outside. Then, rhythmic footsteps produced by clogs knocking against the floor rang out through the shivering cold air and reached the duo.

From outside the bead curtain in front of them, the footsteps continued as the soft and gentle voices of a few women in Japanese were heard. “Hello there, our distinguished guests!”

“Just play us a few songs on the other side of the curtain. You don’t have to come all the way in.” Those women had not even finished what they were saying when Qi Lei’s calm and detached voice was projected from behind the curtain. The three gorgeous ladies in kimonos stopped walking towards the next room, exchanged glances, then found themselves a spot to sit down.

“Wow, I didn’t know you speak Japanese.” Dongfang Liuyun stared at Qi Lei in awe.

Qi Lei chuckled while extending his arm to pour Dongfang Liuyun some wine. “This is nothing. I’m pretty good at picking up new languages. I’ve dabbled in Japanese, German, French, and also Spanish, so I have no problem holding a simple conversation in them.”

“So, you love languages, huh? If not, you wouldn’t have the determination to learn them,” she said with a wide smile.

“I thought you’re also an expert in languages.” Qi Lei had not forgotten about the information regarding Dongfang Liuyun that Yang Sheng had extracted through his investigation.

“I learned all those languages ​​because of my love for archeology and my passion for the history of the world’s civilization because the studies require me to pick a native language or two. If you were to ask me to study those languages ​​just by themselves, I wouldn’t be able to do it,” Dongfang Liuyun responded softly.

So, that was why he felt that she always radiated an aura full of elegance and mystery. At that moment, he thought that it might have something to do with her job.

“I’ve heard about your legend, Dongfang Liuyun.” He lowered his eyes while his tone was calm, but there was a smile on his face.

“What about me is so legendary? Is it me being a genius in archeology? Or the scholar during my years in school?” Dongfang Liuyun listened and smirked. The smile on her face contained a hint of disdain.

“When I was studying abroad, my lecturers didn’t let me pass several courses during my freshman and sophomore years, so I had to give up a few treasures just to win them over. My late grandfather was a well-known archaeologist expert in the world, and even my father was in the antique business. I’ve just been exposed to and intrigued by these things since I was a child as a newbie whose predecessors were stepping stones. That’s all.”

Listening to her, Qi Lei was a little perplexed and he paused for a second. It turned out that these days, there were still people who exposed their own shortcomings in front of others, huh?

“From my point of view, that isn’t something worth parading. Some people are just inherently unsuitable for wearing big names, for example, someone like me.”

“Why? Aren’t you belittling yourself?” he asked in surprise.

Dongfang Liuyun smiled cheerfully and finished the glass of wine while listening to the sweet and tuneful melody from the other side of the curtain. “It’s because I wish to lead a simple life, and live freely.”

Having heard that statement, Qi Lei burst into laughter and raised his glass. “So, you’re saying that what limits ourselves is this!” At the same time, he pointed his finger at his chest.

Dongfang Liuyun did not reply to that while she refilled the glasses.

…

Unlike Qi Lei and Dongfang Liuyun who were lonesome at that moment, the Mu residence was very lively.

Large, red lanterns were hung at the gates, and there was also a row of lanterns strung up neatly along the corridor in the courtyard. The Mus were sitting together in the boisterous atmosphere, having their New Year’s Eve dinner.

After the dinner, the whole family, including the youngsters and the elderly, cuddled together on the sofas, watching the Lunar New Year festival gala on television.

The floor in the living room was covered with a thick, soft non-slip carpet, and the space was so warm that walking barefoot in the living room would not send chills up one’s feet. Xiao Cheng was holding onto the sofa and walking from one side to the other on his bare feet. His tiny body did not seem to feel tired at all although he had not stopped ever since waking up from his nap. He had been busy playing with his toys too.

Mu Yinan liked it a lot naturally. He hugged the little kid from time to time, and let him sit on his thighs, then teased him merrily. Soon, the living room was filled with Xiao Cheng’s loud, innocent laughter.

Boom!

Boom! Boom!

Loud noises were heard coming from outside, and they were followed by colorful and dramatic light streams in the sky. The whole family looked out of the French windows subconsciously.

Beautiful fireworks burst and bloomed one after another in the distant sky while the cheers of the people in the neighborhood could also be heard faintly.

“Father, Mother, I want to go outside and play firecrackers too. Didn’t the butler buy quite a lot of fireworks? Can I play, please?” Mu Xiaorui was excited as he begged.

Xi Xiaye, who was walking into the living room with a freshly prepared platter of fruit, paused for a while and reminded him in an uneasy tone, “Go but be careful and alert. Those things are dangerous, so you have to be cautious, alright?”