She looked at Auntie Jiang. She was getting old. Shuishui felt that she would enjoy shopping and chatting with Auntie Jiang, the same way she did when she went shopping with Auntie Mu.
After dinner, her phone rang. It was Mu Zilin. When Shuishui answered the call, however, she heard a woman's voice. She realized it was Auntie Mu. "Oh, Auntie, what's wrong?" Shuishui said.
"Shuishui, are you free the day after tomorrow?" she asked. The two children were not willing to accompany her. Shuishui was annoyed that none of her own children would even go with her.
"The day after tomorrow? I promised this auntie that I would go with her to visit my relatives, so I might not be free that day." She was a little embarrassed because she had already promised to accompany someone else, so she could only reject Auntie Mu's invitation.
Auntie Mu was a little disappointed. "If that's the case, it's fine. I hope you enjoy New Year's Eve. However, there aren't many people here in the capital during the holidays. You should wear more clothes when you go out."
"Thank you, Auntie. I will." Shuishui simply thanked Auntie Mu because she did not know what else to say.
When the call ended, Shuishui sat in the living room with the others while they chatted away.
Shuishui was not the type who would shy away from a conversation. Auntie Jiang handed Shuishui the clothes she bought for her. "I've already washed them. You can just wear them on New Year's Eve, Shuishui. They will definitely suit you. I bought red and white pieces for you."
If Auntie Jiang had her own daughter, she would have bought her the clothes she had bought her Shuishui. She was excited to see Shuishui wearing them.
Shuishui nodded and thanked Auntie Jiang.
Shuishui was not sure what the clothes looked like and how she would look in them. When she saw the clothes for the first time, she was stunned. It was too feminine for her. However, she could not bear to complain. Although the coat had a Peter Pan collar, it was actually simple. She was not sure how to feel about it because she felt that it was simply not her style. She was unsure about how to react, but she obliged when she realized that Auntie Jiang was very excited to see her change into them.
Shuishui took the coat for a moment and went to change. She felt awkward, but Auntie Jiang liked how she looked in it. "It's very beautiful. You look so cute," Auntie Jiang said.
Shuishui was a little embarrassed. She tied her hair up in a small ponytail.
"It feels so refreshing to see you put up your hair like that," Auntie Jiang said as she pulled Shuishui down the stairs. "Come quickly. We'll show Uncle Jiang and the others."
Jiang Yuan was on the sofa in the living room. When he saw the outfit Shuishui wore, he suddenly felt like laughing because he thought it didn't really suit her. He felt that Shuishui had always looked good in black because it suited her cold personality. The clothes Auntie Jiang bought for her would look good on a child with a bright, lively personality. However, he didn't really think it was too bad.
"It's not too bad," he said.
"Of course. How can the clothes I picked be bad? The more I look at them, the better they look. Shuishui, you should smile more. That's what makes you look really pretty," Auntie Jiang said. Auntie Jiang felt that Shuishui rarely smiled. She was always so quiet that she rarely showed a smile.
Shuishui forced a smile. "Auntie Jiang, I'm not used to grinning," she said.
"Then smile like you normally would. You look really beautiful now. The combination of the red blouse and the white coat worked really well." Auntie Jiang simply believed that the whole look suited Shuishui. She had asked Shuishui to change into a different white coat. The bottom of the coat was slightly bulging, but Shuishui did not care. She didn't really care what she wore as long as it wasn't too weird and exaggerated.
She had only eaten a few mouthfuls of breakfast before she was pulled out by Auntie Jiang.
Shuishui felt like she was on a tight schedule. After accompanying Auntie Jiang for an entire day, she realized how talkative Auntie Jiang was. They visited her friend's house, and Auntie Jiang introduced Shuishui. Auntie Jiang then started chatting with her friend while Shuishui sat in a corner to drink tea. After a while, Shuishui was given a small red envelope. Shuishui expressed her gratitude and put it away. Actually, they had only intended to visit Auntie Jiang's friends, send some gifts, and sit down to chat.
On that day, Shuishui received eight red envelopes. She felt hesitant about accepting them, but it was New Year's Eve and they freely handed them to her. She could not refuse. Even Auntie Jiang had given her and the other children red envelopes.
Auntie Jiang was full of smiles all day. When they returned home at night, Auntie Jiang held Shuishui's hand and said, "You're a good child. You accompanied me the whole day, and you did not complain at all."
"It wasn't bad. Actually, I didn't find it boring. It was quite a rewarding day," Shuishui answered. She actually did not care whether she received red envelopes or not, but she was grateful that people thought of giving them to her.
Auntie Jiang laughed. "Sure. You're much more tenacious than Xiao Li. Every time I ask him to accompany me, he always says he's busy and shows me that he's unwilling to do anything with me," Auntie Jiang said.
Shuishui laughed dryly. She felt that she was physically stronger because she had been training in martial arts. For her, it wasn't a problem accompanying elders and helping them with things.
When they arrived home, all the children went downstairs. Auntie Jiang and Uncle Jiang each gave Shuishui a big red envelope. Shuishui looked at the red envelope and said, "Thank you, Uncle and Auntie."
Jiang Li and the other children also received big envelopes from their parents.
Jiang Li looked at Shuishui and said, "Why did Sister Qian get two and we got only one?"
"This is to reward her. She has worked hard today. She accompanied me today. She even helped me carry a box of wine upstairs," Auntie Jiang said. The box of wine was supposed to be brought up by the by who had delivered it. Shuishui had offered to take it upstairs herself.
Auntie Jiang was shocked. Shuishui was really strong. She had anxiously watched as Shuishui carried the box upstairs but realized that Shuishui didn't find the task difficult at all. Bringing Shuishui along was like having a coolie. Auntie Jiang didn't want to let Shuishui carry everything, but Shuishui had been very insistent and wanted to carry everything.
Jiang Li didn't say anything else. He just looked at Qian Shuishui. When his parents walked away, he went over to Shuishui's side and said, "Sister Qian, you have to treat me."
"Okay," Shuishui instantly replied.
Jiang Li laughed and said, "I'm just kidding. Sister Qian, you're celebrating the New Year here this year, so I should be the one treating you. In a few days, I'll treat you to Thai food. What do you think?" Jiang Li had already thought of inviting Shuishui before, but he had not been able to ask her about it.
Shuishui nodded. "Let's go eat together when you're free."
"You don't have to be shy about it." He chuckled. "Tonight, Sister Qian, do you want to play games?"
Shuishui rejected him directly. "I don't want to play anymore. I might have to go out later."
Jiang Li was a little confused. "You're going out late in the evening? Are you going out for the New Year's Eve celebration?"
"I don't know. Anyway, I'm going out. You have fun. I believe Zilin will also be playing online tonight. He told me that there's an event tonight, so you can play together." She felt that boys liked to play with more people. Zilin was the same age as Jiang Li anyway. They would get along.
He scratched his head and smiled. "I've already made an appointment to go to the dungeon tonight. I was going to ask you to come along."
"It's all right if you already made an appointment. You guys can play. It's almost time for me to go out." Shuishui then went upstairs to her room, washed her face, tied up her hair again, and grabbed her small black leather sling bag, where she had put in her ID cards and some cash. When Ziyu called her, she went out of the house.
It was already nighttime and it was cold outside, but it was warmer inside the car. Ziyu and Shuishui had not seen each other since their trip to the hot spring. They finally got the chance to see each other on New Year's Eve.
Although it was already late, they still had a few hours left before midnight. Mu Ziyu did not tell Shuishui where they were going. He had planned to bring her to a Western restaurant. Shuishui was confused. "Why did you come to a Western restaurant?"
"I know. I brought you here so you can taste the desserts here. This Western restaurant is quite special. Desserts are their specialty," he said with a smile. Ziyu had always wanted to bring Shuishui to the best places.
Shuishui looked at Mu Ziyu. Ziyu had always brought her to the best restaurants and food spots. Shuishui felt moved. It would be a lie to say that she was not moved at all. She found it heartwarming to think that someone took the time and effort to consider what she liked.
"Thank you," she blurted out these two words without any reason. Mu Ziyu was instead stunned.
After a long while, Mu Ziyu rubbed Shuishui's head. "What do you mean? As long as you're happy, it's fine. Tonight, we'll celebrate the New Year here. Because of the festival, they delayed closing until three in the morning am."
Shuishui nodded and said, "Okay. This is quite interesting. I've never been here before."
Mu Ziyu laughed and said, "This should be a special night." As they went in, Shuishui saw that almost all the seats were full.
Mu Ziyu turned to the waiter and said, "I've reserved seats by the window for two people."
"May I know your name?" the waiter asked as he opened the reservation form.
"Mu."
The waiter confirmed their reservation and stood up to accompany them to their seats. "Mr. Mu, this way. The seats are at the back."
Shuishui looked around and noticed that the restaurant was filled with so many people. They were mostly couples.
The two of them sat down, and Shuishui said, "I feel that this restaurant is very popular."
"Of course. To come to this restaurant during the holidays, you have to book your reservation a few days in advance. Otherwise, you won't be able to get a seat." Ziyu had booked the reservation on the day he and Shuishui went to the hot spring resort.
Shuishui looked at Ziyu's face under the dim yellow light. "Every time I see you, I feel so lucky that I have such a handsome boyfriend."
"Do you? Really?" he asked back.
Shuishui nodded. "Yes."
"That's good. Don't care about other people. I am your boyfriend anyway. Come, look at the menu. Order whatever you want. It's around ten o'clock already. They don't accept orders after eleven. You can only order drinks after then," he said to Shuishui.
Shuishui nodded. She had dinner at eight o'clock, which was less than three hours before. She thought for a while and said, "Then I'll order a grilled chicken wing, spicy squid, and fruit platter."
"What do you recommend for the cake?" Shuishui asked Mu Ziyu.
Mu Ziyu flipped through a few pages and said, "Cream matcha cake and mousse crepe cake."
Shuishui quickly decided. "Then I'll have the mousse crepe cake and fruit tea." Mu Ziyu did not want to eat cake, so he added some snacks and staple foods. He also wanted coffee, but Shuishui stopped him. "Are you drinking coffee at this time?"
Ziyu quickly changed his mind. "Never mind. I'll have a cup of almond tea."
The waiter jotted down their order and walked away. Shuishui looked at Mu Ziyu with her chin in her hand. "I know you don't like to eat cakes. Please spend time with me in the next few days. I'm leaving soon. Thank you for everything you did for me."
"Of course not. And I'd be happy to accompany you. How many more days do you have before you leave?" he asked. He felt that the time they could spend together was getting shorter and shorter.
"I'll go back a few days after New Year's Day. By that time, it'll be easy to buy a plane ticket, and the airports won't be too crowded." Shuishui was very afraid of being in crowded places.
"How many days? Three days?" he immediately asked.
Shuishui recalled the date in her plane ticket and said, "No. It seems like I'll be leaving the day after tomorrow. There are only around two days left."
Mu Ziyu immediately felt helpless. He had no concept of time. In fact, he only had one and a half days left to spend with her. "Why are you in such a hurry? Send me the booking reference number of your plane ticket when you get back. I can have your flight details changed and rebook your flight."
"Don't bother. I still have to pay my new year greetings to Father and all my teachers when I get back. Also, I promised Teacher Li that I would go to the army for a short period of time." Shuishui had no choice. She needed to go back soon so she could also give her New Year greetings to her teachers.
She planned to visit each of her four teachers in two and a half days. Then, she would spend one day with her father. After that, she would participate in Teacher Li's army training. She didn't know if it was the same type as before. In any case, she could only bite the bullet and go because the teachers were also playing charades and weren't willing to say anything.
Many thoughts ran through her mind. She hoped Qian Anzhi would study harder so she wouldn't have to keep pestering him. Also, even though she wasn't in the army, she was forced to go and participate in the training.
Mu Ziyu knew that Shuishui respected her teachers very much. Now that he thought about it, her teachers had exemplary backgrounds. If she could gain their favor, Shuishui's transfer to the capital would be much smoother. Of course, he would not tell Shuishui about these things directly because he was not too sure about her teachers' identities.
The cake and drinks were quickly served. Shuishui looked at Mu Ziyu's almond tea. Just by looking at it, she felt that it tasted good.
Mu Ziyu smiled, picked up his cup, and handed it over to Shuishui. "Come take a sip."
Shuishui accepted the cup and tried it. "It's not bad."
Mu Ziyu turned the teacup and put his mouth where Shuishui drank and also took a sip.
Shuishui did not pay attention to what Ziyu was doing. Instead, she started to eat the mousse crepe cake. "It's so similar to that watermelon cake you brought me before. It has a different flavor and melts in my mouth," she said to Ziyu.
She picked up a piece of cake with her fork and let Mu Ziyu taste it. "Here, try it," Shuishui said. Mu Ziyu happily ate it.
Ever since Shuishui arrived at the capital, Mu Ziyu felt that Shuishui had changed a bit. It seems like she had been enlightened. She had started to become more open towards him. She was slowly becoming sweeter and more affectionate towards him. Shuishui took out a small box from her bag and handed it to Ziyu. "Here. This is a gift for you."
"Didn't you just give me a belt? Why did you buy me a gift again?" Although Ziyu was surprised, he was very happy that she had thought of him.
He opened the gift and saw a key chain inside. He picked it up and flipped it over. He saw an engraving at the back of the metal. It read: "Infatuated with Yu."
He was very moved. He smiled sweetly, and his heart was filled with overwhelming affection.
Shuishui looked at him and was too embarrassed to say anything. The words on the back were suggested by the boss who engraved it. She had originally planned to give him a simple key chain. However, the man in the shop asked her who she wanted to give it to. She casually said that she wanted to give it to her boyfriend, and the man suggested the words and carved it with an electric drill.
Shuishui only told the man that her boyfriend's name was Mu Ziyu, and man had created the pun to go with the key chain.
Mu Ziyu was very happy to receive such a gift. Clearly, Shuishui could be romantic too. Even if the gift was not very expensive, he felt very happy because he knew then that she really deeply cared for him. Mu Ziyu was too happy.