Both Su Jian’an and Tang Yulan were good cooks. They soon laid out a huge spread.
The sky gradually darkened.
The bright red lanterns and blooming fireworks welcomed the upcoming New Year. The street was astir with color and noise.
Su Jian’an came out of the kitchen with the last dish and inadvertently saw the gorgeous fireworks. She quickly ran to the window and looked up at the sky—
The fireworks went off with a myriad of colors.
Su Jian’an could hardly conceal her joy and her face was wreathed with smiles.
The fireworks were reflected in Su Jian’an’s eyes, and the light added a glow to her face, making her more charming.
Lu Boyan walked over and gazed at Su Jian’an affectionately.
After a long while, Lu Boyan whispered, “It’s time to eat.”
“Okay,” Su Jian’an replied. She turned and met Lu Boyan’s eyes. Seeing Lu Boyan’s hands were empty, she asked, “Where is Xiyu?”
“He fell asleep,” Lu Boyan said. “I took him back to the children’s room.”
“Well, let’s have dinner!”
As they were in the dining room, Su Jian’an directly pulled Lu Boyan to sit down. At that time, Tang Yulan came over as well.
Su Jian’an ladled soup into bowls. Before she handed them to Lu Boyan and Tang Yulan, Tang Yulan suddenly said, “It’s a happy occasion today. Boyan, how about we drink some wine?”
“Okay.”
Lu Boyan put down the spoon and went to the cellar.
Right at this moment, Xiao Yunyun called Su Jian’an.
Maybe influenced by the festive atmosphere, Xiao Yunyun was very happy, and her voice sounded very excited.
“Jian’an, my mom told me that the dinner on New Year’s Eve represents a reunion. Why don’t we eat together? We can also call my cousin and cousin-in-law!”
Su Jian’an smiled. “Yunyun is such a child. Always acting on impulse,” she couldn’t help thinking.
She replied, “Yunyun, don’t forget what you’ll be doing tomorrow. We will have many chances to have dinner together. As for tonight, it’s better that we eat with our families. Aunt will enjoy you and Yuechuan’s company.”
These words enlightened Xiao Yunyun that her mother should want to have New Year’s Eve dinner with Yuechuan.
After all, this was the first time in the past 20 years that Su Yunjin and Shen Yuechuan spent New Year’s Eve together.
She had overlooked it. Fortunately, Su Jian’an reminded her!
Xiao Yunyun nodded and said cooperatively, “Well, see you tomorrow!”
“See you.” Su Jian’an hung up the phone.
Right at this time, Lu Boyan brought the wine. He poured two glasses of wine for Tang Yulan and himself.
He didn’t pour any for Su Jian’an.
Su Jian’an was still breastfeeding. She could not take anything with alcohol, including red wine.
Tang Yulan smiled and clinked her glass against Lu Boyan’s. She did not forget to comfort Su Jian’an, “Jian’an, I will drink with you next New Year’s Eve.”
Su Jian’an could only comfort herself that she had no interest in red wine or other wines!
She nodded and said, “Okay.”
Tang Yulan took a sip of the red wine and savored it. Suddenly, she thought of something and shook her head, saying, “Not necessarily. You might be in the lactation period again next year.”
It was impossible for Su Jian’an to breastfeed Xiyu and Xiangyi for more than a year.
And Tang Yulan just said “again”.
Therefore, the old lady meant that Su Jian’an might have another baby next year.
Su Jian’an was shocked and almost choked on the soup. She looked at Tang Yulan blankly.
Lu Boyan noticed Su Jian’an’s panic. He put down the spoon and said, “Mom, we don’t plan to have another child.”
Lu Boyan had made this decision when she gave birth to Xiyu and Xiangyi.
But he had never told Tang Yulan about it until today.
Tang Yulan looked at Lu Boyan and then at Su Jian’an. Only then did she realize that they had misunderstood her.
She smiled and slowly took a sip of the soup.
“Don’t worry. I’m just kidding. I am not urging you to have more children. And I’ll listen to your opinions on educating children. I won’t force you to do anything. After all, times are different. You young people can keep up with the trend. I’m old and I should live in comfort in my old age.”
Su Jian’an was a little moved and she let out a sigh of relief.
To be honest, she could understand why Tang Yulan would want them to have another child.
Most elderly people hoped to have bigger families as it would be livelier.
“Would Lu Boyan’s direct rejection disappoint the old lady?”
As soon as the three of them finished dinner, Aunt Liu rushed down hurriedly and said that Xiyu and Xiangyi were crying hard. Maybe they were frightened by the sound of the fireworks.
Su Jian’an stopped thinking about anything else. She ran upstairs and heard the cries of Xiyu and Xiangyi from a distance.
She sped up and picked up Xiangyi as soon as she entered the children’s room. The little girl grabbed her clothes and wailed, struggling hard in her arms. Obviously, she was frightened by the unusual noises outside.
However, the fireworks outside wouldn’t stop in a short time.
Lu Boyan came in later.
Su Jian’an looked at Lu Boyan and said helplessly, “What should we do?”
Lu Boyan was calm. He walked over to close the window and took out a remote control from the drawer. He pressed a button and the sound of fireworks was immediately muted.
Not hearing the sounds anymore, Xiangyi’s eyes widened and she looked around like an uneasy rabbit. After making sure that the horrible sounds had really disappeared, she rubbed her face against Su Jian’an’s chest and slowly calmed down.
Xiyu leaned against Lu Boyan’s arms and slowly stopped crying.
The two little guys were pacified and soon fell asleep again.
Su Jian’an finally felt relieved. She looked at Lu Boyan and asked curiously, “What did you do just now?”
“The children’s room is soundproofed,” Lu Boyan said. “The fireworks will continue in the next few days. I’ll insulate the room so that Xiyu and Xiangyi won’t be disturbed.”
Su Jian’an breathed a sigh of relief as if she had solved a big problem in her life. She put Xiangyi back in the crib and accompanied her for a while. After making sure the girl was sleeping soundly, Su Jian’an returned to her room.
Fireworks kept exploding outside. Su Jian’an opened the window. “Bang, bang—” The sound was louder, and the cold wind of an early spring blew in with a biting edge, stinging her face.
Lu Boyan walked in and closed the window. He asked in confusion, “Why are you so obsessed with fireworks?”
“Don’t you think they’re beautiful?” Su Jian’an raised her head and seemed addicted to the fireworks in the sky.
Lu Boyan did not reply. He walked aside and made a phone call in a low voice.
Su Jian’an could not hear what Lu Boyan said. She wondered, “You have work?”
“No,” Lu Boyan directly denied it. “It’s something else.”
Su Jian’an became even more curious and asked, “So mysterious. What is it?”
Lu Boyan caressed Su Jian’an’s hair and said, “You will know soon.” After that, he took a pair of pyjamas and walked to the bathroom.
The bathroom door was quickly closed, stopping Su Jian’an from asking any more questions. She pursed her lips and walked around the room, finding nothing special.
Finally, her eyes focused on a bag.
Lu Boyan’s gifts were in it.
Su Jian’an wanted to open it in the car when she received it. But she gave up the idea after being irritated by Lu Boyan.
Now, she was very curious about the jewelry Lu Boyan had picked for her.
Thinking about that, Su Jian’an opened the bag and found two boxes inside which were printed with the same brand logos.
One of them carried an elegant watch with a black strap.
Su Jian’an preferred watches to luxury jewelry. In the past, Su Yicheng would give her watches as birthday gifts when he had no idea what else to give. Watches were always pleasant surprises for her.
Lu Boyan also knew that she liked watches. Every time when the brands she liked launched new models, he would buy them for her.
This watch was also the latest model of the brand.
Therefore, the item in the other box was what Lu Boyan really wanted to give her.
Su Jian’an opened that box. As expected, it was a piece of jewelry.
It was a simple-style necklace that she liked. It was not luxurious, instead, it was thin and had a classic look.
Even if Su Jian’an was not so fond of jewelry, she couldn’t help taking it out and placing it on her collarbones.
When Lu Boyan came out of the bathroom, he saw Su Jian’an trying on the necklace in front of the mirror.
He came up behind her and helped her put on the necklace. He bent down, put his chin on her shoulder and asked in a low voice, “Do you like it?”
Su Jian’an nodded and praised, “It’s very beautiful. I like it! So, you don’t have to make it up to me now!”
If she hadn’t mentioned it, Lu Boyan would have forgotten what he said in the car.
However, since Su Jian’an brought it up —
“Jian’an…” Lu Boyan turned his head and whispered gently in Su Jian’an’s ear, letting out a warm breath.
Su Jian’an could not stand Lu Boyan’s teasing, and her face suddenly turned red.
Unfortunately, Lu Boyan’s mobile phone rang at this time. He received a new message.
Lu Boyan remembered something. He checked the message and took Su Jian’an’s hand, saying, “Let’s go.”
“To where?” Su Jian’an was stunned and looked at Lu Boyan with an odd expression.
Lu Boyan scrutinized Su Jian’an’s face for a moment and smiled, “Don’t worry, it’s definitely not what you think.”
Su Jian’an was speechless.