Chapter 44: The New Years's Show
After dinner, Xiao Zhan, Xiao Jing'er, and Xiao Li'er continued drinking and chatting, while Xiao Yan stood up and said to Xiao Zhan.
"Father, I'll go prepare things with the others."
"Oh~ go ahead."
Xiao Zhan waved his hand lightly, and Xiao Yan nodded, then walked over to Qing Lin. He squatted down and said softly, "Little Qing Lin~ I'll take you to have some fun, okay?"
"Mm!"
After spending the day together, Qing Lin had completely let go of her guard towards the Xiao family. Upon hearing Xiao Yan's words, she happily nodded.
Seeing this, Xiao Jing'er 's gaze showed deep appreciation, and even Xiao Li'er 's eyes revealed rare tenderness.
Qing Lin's parents, please rest assured.
Your daughter is doing well.
"Hey, what is Xiao Yan going to prepare?"
Nalan Yanran asked Xiao Xun'er, who slightly raised an eyebrow and looked at Nalan Yanran with some displeasure.
"Miss Nalan, I have a name, and don't you think calling me 'Hey' is rather impolite?"
"Then should I call you Xun'er little sister?" Nalan Yanran shrugged.
"You can just call me 'Hey'." Xiao Xun'er replied without hesitation, then continued, "Every year, the Xiao family's evening show is prepared by us juniors, and we call it the New Year's Show."
New Year's Show?
Nalan Yanran furrowed her brow tightly.
What is this thing?
While Nalan Yanran was thinking, Xiao Yan had already taken Qing Lin's hand and arrived at the entrance. He turned back and looked at the two.
"Xun'er, Little foodie, let's go~"
"Coming~"
"I've told you not to call me Little foodie!!!"
The group laughed and joked as they arrived at the Xiao family's courtyard. The leftover food from the midday tables had been cleared away, the tablecloths were replaced, and the previously messy ground had been cleaned up. The Xiao family's young members were gathered around a wooden high platform covered with a red carpet, discussing something.
"Xiao Yan's here!!!"
Someone shouted, and immediately the Xiao family members surrounded him in a circle. The excited crowd scared Qing Lin, who was being held by Xiao Yan, into quietly hugging his waist and not letting go. Even Xiao Xun'er and Nalan Yanran were squeezed to the side.
"Look at me! Look at me!!! My program tonight is a must-see!"
"Get lost! What kind of weird program is that? Breaking tiles? What a trashy show, I can't believe you thought of it!"
"This is a titanium alloy tile! Not everyone can break it!"
"Can that even be called a tile?!"
Surrounded by the Xiao family members, Xiao Yan had a helpless expression on his face. He called out to Xiao Yu, who was walking by the crowd.
"Xiao Yu, please take Little Qing Lin out."
"Oh."
Xiao Yu responded and immediately reached out to pull Qing Lin out of the crowd. She gently comforted the slightly scared Qing Lin and looked at Xiao Yan, who was surrounded by the Xiao family members, with a helpless smile.
"It's always like this every year~"
"Yeah, it is~"
Xiao Xun'er also stood with her hands behind her back, lightly laughing as she watched the scene, while Nalan Yanran, still somewhat confused, pointed at the crowd surrounding Xiao Yan.
"What are they... doing?"
"The Xiao family's New Year Show is always prepared by us juniors, but because of time limitations, there are only a few programs that can be performed each year. In the end, it's always Xiao Yan who decides who gets to perform on stage," Xiao Xun'er explained. Xiao Yu, who was holding Qing Lin, added:
"Usually, as long as time permits, Xiao Yan tries to let everyone perform, since we've been preparing our programs for a long time. Xiao Yan doesn't have the heart to cut anyone out." Xiao Yu said, rubbing her forehead with her jade hand, her face showing some black lines. "But every year, there are always a few weird programs that even Xiao Yan can't bear to keep."
"Weird programs?"
Nalan Yanran raised a big question mark in her mind.
Living in the Xiao family these days, she had gradually come to realize something.
The entire Xiao family is a rather eccentric family, so how strange must these programs be to make this eccentric family feel they're "weird"?
With this thought in mind, Nalan Yanran couldn't help but become curious, wanting to see the strange programs Xiao Yu had mentioned.
At that moment, an excited voice suddenly rang out.
"My New Year masterpiece is finished!!!"
Nalan Yanran turned to look and saw Xiao Mei running excitedly toward the crowd, holding a stack of papers bound together.
"Mei'er!" Xiao Yu suddenly called out, waving her hand as Xiao Mei approached with a confused expression.
"Come here."
Nalan Yanran couldn't help but feel something was off about Xiao Yu's tone. It felt a little... speechless?
Xiao Mei, hearing Xiao Yu's call, slowly repressed her excitement and walked over.
When Xiao Mei came closer, Nalan Yanran noticed something. She raised an eyebrow.
It had only been an afternoon since she last saw Xiao Mei, but how had she become so tired? Even dark circles had appeared under her eyes.
Looking at Xiao Mei, Xiao Yu's expression became complicated. She extended her hand toward her.
"Let me see your script."
"Oh! This is my proud masterpiece!"
Xiao Mei, extremely proud, handed the script over to Xiao Yu and lifted her head high, nearly pointing her nostrils to the sky.
Xiao Yu took the script, opened it, and Xiao Xun'er and Nalan Yanran leaned in curiously. Even Qing Lin, in Xiao Yu's arms, stood on tiptoe to watch.
[Male lead Xiao Yan, female lead Xiao Mei, evil female supporting roles Xiao Xun'er, Nalan Yanran, Ya Fei, and the shameless male supporting role Xiao Ning, who shouldn't even exist.]
[The story tells of the gentle and weak female lead being oppressed by the evil female supporting roles and the shameless male supporting role, as her life gradually falls into despair.]
[At this time, the devoted, brave, gentle, and dedicated male lead descends from the heavens, driving away all the filth around the female lead, and finally, the male and female leads walk towards a happy and perfect new life together.]
Tsk~~~ Before finishing, Xiao Yu's eyes went dull, and her expression became emotionless as she closed the script. She tore the thick stack of papers directly in half and casually tossed it to the ground.
"Oh no!!! My masterpiece!!!!!" Xiao Mei collapsed to the ground with a face as if the sky had fallen, sobbing as she stared at the shredded paper, "I spent three months coming up with this world-shaking work."
"Three months... I wondered why you were so absent-minded during that time. Turns out you were thinking about this?" Xiao Xun'er said with a dark expression, then squatted down with a slightly sinister smile, pointing at the torn script on the ground. "By the way, Mei'er, I want to ask, leaving those two aside, why am I also an evil supporting role? Haven't I been nice to you?"
"Ah? Ah, that's... it's for the plot."
Seeing Xiao Xun'er's gloomy expression, Xiao Mei timidly turned her head, unwilling to meet Xiao Xun'er' s gaze.
"Hey! What do you mean by 'leaving those two aside'? I'm still not happy that you put me in the script without my consent!" Nalan Yanran, hearing Xiao Xun'er's words, complained, crossing her arms and looking at Xiao Yu. "But indeed, as you said, it's very strange. Does she bring out things like this every year?"
"Ah, it's really beyond foolish," Xiao Yu muttered softly, pinching the bridge of her nose in helplessness. "But aside from her, there's always one more person who makes a fool of themselves every year."
As soon as Xiao Yu finished speaking, Xiao Ning's voice, accompanied by footsteps, came from outside the courtyard.
"Xiao Yan! Watch the program I've prepared today!"
"Xiao Ning, if you don't want your dear sister to lose her dear little brother forever, go back and put on your clothes. Don't even think about performing on stage," Xiao Yu's cold voice suddenly interrupted.
There was a brief silence outside the courtyard, and after a few seconds, Nalan Yanran heard the sound of Xiao Ning's retreating footsteps, without even seeing him.
This situation made Nalan Yanran's heart itch with curiosity, like a cat scratching. She couldn't help but feel a strong curiosity about Xiao Ning's program, which was dismissed before even being revealed.
What exactly was he going to perform???
(End of Chapter)
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