Chapter 39

Zhen Bao soon found that Feng Ke's attitude toward her did not change much after she declined his offer to buy her clothes. He was still aloof but not hostile.

On New Year's Eve, three generations sat around the table to have reunion dinner. The Fu family were native Beijingers through and through. For New Year's Eve dinner they had dumplings. Mr. Fu had asked Zhen Bao beforehand what her family ate for New Year's at her hometown, so the table was set with a special dish of diced tomatoes fried with rice cakes and rice cake soup just for her.

"Eat more, Bao Bao. Don't be shy," Mr. Fu said as he continuously scooped two dumplings at a time into Zhen Bao's bowl with the serving chopsticks.

Zhen Bao nodded obediently again and again. Looking around at everyone, she felt a strange sense of belonging.

After her father passed away, she had spent New Year's Eve the last few years having dinner at the home of Granny Zhang next door. Granny Zhang treated her well, but they weren't actually family in the end. Watching other families celebrate the holiday with three generations under one roof, Zhen Bao could not integrate into the festivities. She would hurry to finish eating, then go back home alone after dinner to lie in bed listening to the pop-pop-pop of firecrackers going off all over the village, thinking of the departed loved ones.

Now, she and Fu Ming Shi were in a romantic relationship. Someday she might really become part of this family, with grandpa, parents-in-law, and no longer alone.

Her eyes grew moist, so Zhen Bao quickly distracted herself.

After dinner, the whole family played mahjong, a traditional New Year's activity.

At first Zhen Bao sat next to Mr. Fu and just watched. At 8 o'clock when Mr. Fu went upstairs to rest, she took over his spot, sitting face-to-face with Fu Ming Shi. In the first round, Fu Zheng won, so the three losers had to send him red packet money on WeChat. As banker, Zhen Bao had to send 40 yuan.

Mr. Fu had left his phone for Zhen Bao to use, but Zhen Bao wanted to play with her own money. "I'll cover you," Fu Ming Shi said, looking at her as he transferred the money they'd lost together to his dad.

Fu Zheng smiled faintly while Feng Ke raised an eyebrow, "We should each send our own, otherwise what's the point?"

Fu Ming Shi looked at Zhen Bao again. Blushing, Zhen Bao glared at him, "I'll send my own."

After the siblings reached an agreement, Fu Zheng laughed and sent Zhen Bao a friend request first. Feng Ke also added her and saw her profile picture was a black cat and a black dog. The corners of Feng Ke's mouth turned up slightly. Just after Zhen Bao sent Fu Zheng 40 yuan, she received two transfer notifications in a row.

One from Fu Ming Shi for 500 yuan and one from Fu Zheng for 50,000 yuan. The message from Fu Zheng said: Red envelope money. Zhen Bao glanced at Fu Zheng stealthily. He was shuffling mahjong tiles with a normal, unruffled expression. She definitely could not refuse the red envelope money, but all of a sudden 50,000...

Just as she was feeling conflicted, Fu Ming Shi suddenly said to his dad, "You still haven't paid me back for the 40 yuan I sent you on Zhen Bao's behalf."

For the first time, Fu Zheng's calm expression cracked. He stared at his son for a couple seconds before transferring the money to him.

Feng Ke laughed schadenfreudly while Zhen Bao and Fu Ming Shi exchanged a look and laughed quietly to themselves. Zhen Bao put away her phone, no longer bothered about the red envelope money from Fu Zheng.

They chatted while playing mahjong. The night seemed to fly by unusually quickly. Before they knew it, it was past 10 pm already.

In the final round, Fu Zheng got a big win. Feng Ke suddenly pushed away the mahjong tiles. "I'm done, I'm going to sleep," he said, then went upstairs by himself.

Seeing Zhen Bao was about to transfer money, Fu Zheng laughed, "This round doesn't count. You two should go to bed early, too." Then he left his seat to go after his wife.

With the elders gone, Zhen Bao finally stretched her arms. After sitting for three or four hours, her shoulders were a little sore.

"How much did you lose?" Fu Ming Shi came around behind her and gripped the back of her chair, leaning down to ask.

Zhen Bao checked the transfer records. With wins and losses, her luck hadn't been too bad overall. She'd only lost a little over 50 yuan.

"See, they really like you," Fu Ming Shi said, kissing her flushed cheeks. He was extremely satisfied. Afraid Zhen Bao didn't understand, he explained softly, "If my mom didn't like you, she wouldn't have played with us for so long."

Zhen Bao also somehow felt Feng Ke didn't dislike her, but she felt even more guilty. She turned and confessed to Fu Ming Shi, "Yesterday your mom wanted to take me shopping for clothes, but I declined..." Fu Ming Shi laughed and swiftly kissed her eyelashes and brows: "Luckily you didn't go. The clothes she would have picked, you definitely wouldn't have liked." Zhen Bao's taste was still stuck in her student days. The clothes his mother would choose would be too mature for her.

"Go wash your hands first. We'll go out for a stroll in a bit," Fu Ming Shi enticed in her ear. Since his parents arrived yesterday, he and Zhen Bao hadn't truly spent time alone together.

Zhen Bao nodded. A few minutes later when she came out of the first floor bathroom, she saw Fu Ming Shi holding her coat waiting in the living room doorway. As she walked over, he spread the coat open ahead of time as if he were a store attendant, wanting to help her put it on. Zhen Bao felt sweet inside and silently let him help.

It was very cold outside at night with a slight breeze. Fu Ming Shi brought Zhen Bao to a shadowy corner and leaned back against a tree trunk, pulling her into his embrace. Lowering his head, he asked, "Did you have fun tonight?"

Zhen Bao nodded vigorously.

Fu Ming Shi gently stroked her hair. It was very soft and felt nice to touch.

"I regret letting you go to college," he said, adjusting their positions and backing her against the tree trunk. Leaning down over her, he continued, "Next April, you'll turn 20."

Zhen Bao was confused, "Why?"

Fu Ming Shi didn't need her to understand. Gripping her waist from behind, he lifted her higher and kissed her deeply. They couldn't do anything else. His kissing skills had improved more and more with practice. Zhen Bao felt like she was floating. It seemed the happiest thing in the world was being held and kissed by him.

After an unknown amount of time, Fu Ming Shi finally parted from her reluctantly. He picked her up and carried her back.

"Put me down," Zhen Bao said nervously when they reached the door. She was afraid of running into the elders.

"They're all in their rooms. They won't bother with us," Fu Ming Shi said confidently. Ignoring Zhen Bao's objections, he carried her inside. Fu Zheng and his wife were on the third floor. When they passed the third floor, Zhen Bao's heart raced, but luckily nothing happened. They made it smoothly to her bedroom door.

Fu Ming Shi set her down, gaze gentle, "Good night."

After watching him walk downstairs, the first thing Zhen Bao did when she got to her room was look up "20 years old" online. The top results had nothing to do with what Fu Ming Shi had said. She had to scroll all the way to the bottom of the webpage before noticing a "marriage age requirements" in the related searches.

Zhen Bao froze. The legal marriage age for women seemed to be 20?

So was Fu Ming Shi in a hurry to get married?