CHAPTER 867: CHAPTER 583: EVERY YEAR IS DIFFERENT

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God..." Once the car drove away from the Lin Family’s house, Chuxia let out a long sigh and began to mutter incessantly.

"Can’t handle it already?" Zeng Meili looked at her amusingly, "Honestly, today’s situation was much better than I expected."

"It’s not that I can’t handle it, it’s just that I’m stifled. In my humble opinion, during New Year’s greetings, people should chat and make noise to liven things up. So, I racked my brains and thought of a belly full of auspicious words, but ended up not using any..." Chuxia said with a helpless face, shrugging her hands. "If I had known, I wouldn’t have bothered. Zhou Mikang, why didn’t you give me a heads-up?"

"I didn’t see you preparing, so I didn’t say anything."

"..."

"Zhou Mikang, how unreliable must I seem in your eyes!" Chuxia shook her head in exasperation and closed her eyes in silence, clearly feeling dejected.

Zhou Mikang gave her a glance and said, "You can save your auspicious words for when we return to the Capital City, don’t worry, they won’t grow mold."

"Jerk!" Chuxia glared at him angrily and turned her head towards the window.

The group leader Tongzi, not very good at coaxing people, furrowed his brows in confusion. He noticed that his elder brother and cousin were almost bursting into laughter, but it wasn’t right to ignore his little wife’s feelings either. Finally, he had an idea! "Why don’t you tell us the words you prepared? No sweat, right?"

"Hahaha..."

Zhou Xikang and Zeng Meili couldn’t hold back anymore and laughed out loud.

Chuxia couldn’t help but laugh too; actually, she hadn’t prepared much. After all, auspicious words are ready-made, but she was just annoyed that Zhou Mikang didn’t inform her beforehand, making her feel like a fool who knew nothing.

"You’re mad that I didn’t tell you everything, right?" Luckily, the group leader Tongzi wasn’t too slow to realize where the problem lay on his own.

"What do you think?"

"It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you, it’s just that the situation on their side was completely unpredictable. Today’s situation was because Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle’s family had a conflict, so they didn’t want to speak up, and no one else did either.

In previous years, after the New Year’s greeting, Grandma and Grandpa would gather everyone around to chat and talk, and sometimes they would even get the younger ones to perform something.

However, the situation changes every year, how to put it, even Mom probably doesn’t understand how the family’s New Year is supposed to be spent. Anyway, it changes every year."

"What kind of situation is this?" Chuxia looked at Zhou Mikang in confusion. "Is it because Grandma and Grandpa particularly like change?"

"Probably." Zhou Mikang shrugged helplessly. "They weren’t in the mood today, so they didn’t say much to you. If they were in good spirits, they might have even asked you to do some poetry.

Both Grandma and Grandpa studied abroad in Japan, and in their actions, they like to be different, but their personality is quite contradictory. You could tell from today’s setup that they really care about hierarchy and rules. Anyway, you only see them once or twice a year, don’t take it to heart, just treat it like going through the motions."

"Learned something new again." Chuxia looked at Zeng Meili with emotion. "It’s really true that you live and learn."

Zeng Meili: "..." Third sister-in-law, you’re only eighteen!

Chuxia suddenly slapped her head: "Oh right, Zhou Mikang, you lost. Didn’t you say that when we come out, Su Weimin would definitely be waiting by the car? But there wasn’t even a shadow." Then she looked at Zhou Xikang, "Big brother, do you have any regrets?"

"No." Zhou Xikang shook his head, "Not betting gives me peace of mind, but I’m quite puzzled. Generally, Laosan has a good eye for things, so how did he miss this time?"

"He didn’t miss, Jiang Qi and Ma Chao took him away." Zhou Mikang said with a nonchalant expression, as if this was a trivial matter.

"Took him away?" Chuxia widened her eyes and looked at him, "Hey, aren’t you being too bold? Regardless, he’s considered Elder Yao’s son-in-law. Even if they’re getting a divorce, as long as it’s not finalized, they’re still family. Besides, even if they divorce, they might remarry. Treating him like this, will Elder Yao be happy?"

"I’m helping Elder Yao. Otherwise, if he started causing a scene during the festive season, whose face would be lost?" Zhou Mikang snorted coldly, "Besides, it’s not worth it to let someone like that ruin the holiday mood. It’s better to lock him up for a few days first."

"When did you arrange for Jiang Qi and Ma Chao to do this? Aren’t they going home for the holidays? Oh, right, are they still protecting me?"

"Yes, they’ve been with you all along, not because you’re particularly important, but because I am, so the higher-ups would let them stay with you. It’s one of the conditions I agreed to involve myself with medical preparations.

You could say I’m using this to threaten others, and yes, I am threatening. I want everyone to know that my marriage to Zhou Mikang is well-considered, to prevent some people from having inappropriate thoughts."

"Should I pretend to be a little touched?"

"Don’t be moved, I’m just doing it to have fewer worries."

"Oh." Chuxia nodded, "I figured, you couldn’t possibly be doing it just for me. Anyway, you still haven’t answered my other question. Why are Jiang Qi and Ma Chao with us during New Year’s, and I didn’t see you set this up."

Zhou Mikang glanced at her through the rearview mirror: "If you could see through everything I do, do you think I could still hold this position and return safely from missions?"

"Are you looking down on me?"

"Not just you, even Big Brother and Meili didn’t see it."

"Oh..." Chuxia tugged on Zeng Meili and looked at Zhou Xikang, "Big Brother, Sister Meili, he’s looking down on the three of us."

"Used to it." Zhou Xikang, who had been watching the scene, said in good spirits with a smile, "Having been his brother for so many years, I’m now realizing that I don’t understand my younger brother at all. Truly, like attracts like, one thing conquers another. From now on, it looks like brighter days are ahead for all of us."

"Was it often gloomy with him before?"

"Either way, this is the happiest New Year’s in years." Zhou Xikang paused and said, "Even though not everyone is here, the atmosphere is better than it’s been in many years."

Chuxia shamelessly took credit: "Of course, that’s all thanks to me."

Zeng Meili sneaked a glance at Zhou Mikang and saw the perfect curve of his lips, feeling a bit envious: "Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law, this must be true love between you two. Meeting like this is really a great blessing."

Zhou Mikang nodded: "Yes, you’ve found it too, just learn to cherish it."

"Third Sister-in-law, you don’t know this, but the things my third cousin and I said to each other in the past twenty-plus years don’t amount to what we’ve talked about this year. Since meeting you, my third cousin really seems like a changed person.

I remember when I was young, I would come to the Zhou family with my mom, and I really wanted to follow Third Brother around, but every time he wouldn’t even spare me a glance, it scared me from getting close.

Later, as I grew up, it wasn’t just me; even Big Brother and the others spoke cautiously to Third Brother. I never dared to bring up this kind of topic in front of him, but now I’m not afraid because if he gets angry, Third Sister-in-law can calm him down."

"Zhou Mikang, you were really annoying before, such a nuisance kid." Chuxia remembered her earlier question, "You still haven’t told me why Jiang Qi and Ma Chao didn’t go home for New Year’s?"

"Why are you so concerned with their whereabouts?" Zhou Mikang glanced back at her, looking displeased.

"They’re always protecting me, how can I not be concerned? Plus, what I’m most curious about is, when you’re home, during New Year’s, and there’s no danger, why do they stay here?"

"They protect you because of me. Without me, they wouldn’t protect you."

"I know, I know, I have some self-awareness. Okay, I was wrong; I won’t pay attention to their whereabouts anymore, I’ll leave that to you. Just answer my other question."

"They are orphans; they dislike New Year’s the most."

"..." After a long silence, Chuxia asked, "Then where did they spend New Year’s Eve? And next year, can we invite them over for New Year’s? After all, they protect me, even if there is no achievement, there is still hard work, isn’t it?"

"I invited them, but they refused." Zhou Mikang glanced at Chuxia, "At times like this, you want them to come and feel sad?"

"You’re right, I didn’t consider it thoroughly. I guess they’ll only have a normal New Year’s once they get married. Such poor people, I must treat them better in the future..." Feeling the icy stare from Captain Tongzi, Chuxia quickly corrected herself, "I mean, I’ll cause less trouble, so they won’t have to work so hard. Even though they’re protecting me for your sake, they probably don’t feel a sense of personal value from it."

Sure enough, hearing her say so, Captain Tongzi’s expression softened: "Hmm."

Zhou Xikang and Zeng Meili exchanged a glance and turned their faces towards the window, just as a few New Year’s greeters peeked curiously into the car, and their actions startled people into quickly fleeing...

Zhou Mikang frowned disdainfully: "If you’re going to laugh, just laugh openly. Someone might think I’m driving around with two lunatics in the car."

The group bustled back to the Zhou family, reaching home at eleven in the morning. Upon entering, they found Zhou Huakang chatting with a host of elders in the living room, while Zhou Zhongkang hadn’t returned yet.

Mei Xiaofeng stretched her neck to look outside, her expression visibly disappointed. Although she got along well with the people in this house, they weren’t particularly familiar to her, making the morning especially tough, especially when others were engaged in warm conversations, making it even more difficult to endure.

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First update. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)