A Gift To Commemorate The 20th Anniversary Of Qingming Festival

“Monster sister is sick but won’t see a doctor. Uncle said that doctor is not a good person — he says he’s cheap and that just by touching himself, he can cure diseases.”

“This, this, this?” Zhou Buping was shocked.

Was his younger brother really such a flirt?

And even letting a young girl touch him voluntarily!

The Zhou family’s reputation was ruined because of him.

Zhou Buping reconsidered and thought, whatever, let it be ruined. At least there’s a girl willing to accept him — that’s worth celebrating.

Zhou Buping rewarded Zhou Fan with an ice cream and told him to eat it in the living room.

“Honey, my brother has finally become a man! Great!”

Zhao Zi chuckled, “Fan Fan’s words aren’t always true.”

“My son never lies,” Zhou Buping said confidently. “If my brother didn’t want it, who would get close to him? This clearly shows he likes that young girl!”

“Wife, if you want to play matchmaker, you have to ask Shen Yi’s opinion first. Forced melons aren’t sweet.”

“It’s so hard to grow a melon, if you don’t twist it now, it’ll rot in the field.” Zhou Buping launched into a monologue. “His behavior is exactly like how you chased me back in the day! No doubt about it!”

On the other side of the screen, Zhao Zi watched happily as Zhou Buping excitedly prepared the betrothal gifts.

The wedding date hadn’t even been set yet.

—

Million Company building, PR department.

After dying her hair black, Ying Yu had once again become a company nobody, quietly slacking off. Her peaceful life was interrupted when she went to the tea room to get hot water.

Several familiar but not close colleagues casually asked her, “Ying Yu, these past few mornings, have you been taking the elevator with our General Manager Zhou?”

The Bluetooth earphones played the short drama voiceover: “Who do you think you are? You just happen to be somewhat pretty. You think the young master cares about you? You work so hard to get close, yet he doesn’t even know your name!”

Ying Yu blinked cautiously.

Though she was the only one who fit Zhou Shenyi’s dating standards, that didn’t mean she would let others talk trash about her.

“Don’t worry, we don’t mean anything else. We just want to know if you can pass our suggestion to General Manager Zhou.”

“Suggestion?”

“Fire me?”

The leader gathered courage: “The small bowls at the cafeteria’s vegetable window taste awful. Could you tell General Manager Zhou to change the chef?”

“Sis, that doesn’t matter much. Increasing shuttle bus trips is more important. You don’t know how I squeeze into the subway every day and get home at 10 PM, I’m dead tired!”

“And also, that Ouyang in the tech department — Old Ouyang — is lazy, always making me write code for him so he can snatch concert tickets. I’m such a hardworking horse but turning yellow from this!”

…

Ying Yu felt like she was at an ancient Greek forum, her head buzzing from all the noise.

Cui Se squeezed in to rescue her and handed her some documents: “Ying Yu, go make copies of these documents and deliver them to General Manager Zhou’s office. There’s a meeting soon.”

Ying Yu obeyed quickly.

Cui Se was unhappy watching them use Ying Yu as a scapegoat. “Why don’t you all talk to General Manager Zhou yourselves? Why make Ying Yu the fall girl?”

He didn’t blame them for being timid — it was because Zhou Shenyi was unapproachable.

The lead employee told her a well-known story.

Once, an employee asked for three days off to take care of family needing a life-saving surgery.

Zhou Shenyi didn’t even look up and rejected, “This company pays your salary. It’s not a charity. Don’t use incompetence as an excuse. Absence counts as missing work.”

That person sighed, “Ying Yu is pleading for us. We will remember her.”

One person clasped hands, leading a chant, “Thank you, Ying Yu.”

“Thank you, Ying Yu.” The others echoed, almost like a prayer.

—

Ying Yu collected her thoughts, took a deep breath, and knocked on Zhou Shenyi’s glass door.

“Come in.”

“General Manager Zhou, these are the documents for the meeting in an hour. Please review.” Ying Yu placed the documents on the desk and was surprised to see Guan Pingjin also there, waving a Polaroid camera at her.

“You’re Ying Yu from PR? You’ve got something on your back, turn around.”

Guan Pingjin aimed the camera.

Click.

The Polaroid spat out a palm-sized photo. Ying Yu was puzzled: “What are you doing?”

“Helping the company get through a crisis,” Guan Pingjin said, praising Ying Yu and handing the photo to Zhou Shenyi.

The photo showed Ying Yu’s blue jeans barely covering white sneakers, a yellow sweatshirt cut neatly with a simple style, her black shoulder-length hair revealing a slightly youthful profile that looked like a student.

Why was she holding an orange?

“Did she agree before you took the photo?” Zhou Shenyi frowned and tapped Guan Pingjin’s shoulder sharply with a folder, voice loud: “Apologize.”

It was just a back photo — could they lose some weight on it?

Guan Pingjin rubbed his sore shoulder, knowing Zhou Shenyi’s stubbornness was acting up, so he obediently apologized, “Sorry, Ying Yu, I was in a hurry. The interview is in a couple of days and if the photo isn’t ready, the whole press release about the crush will be wasted. Sorry.”

“No problem.” Ying Yu waved it off but felt a little stirred inside and asked, “Why take a photo of me and not others?”

Zhou Shenyi lazily held a pen and said, “The last person who came in was a married man without a shaved beard. The one before that was a female basketball champion taller than me. Do you think the press release fits the delicate, small bird image?”

The little spark was immediately snuffed out.

Ying Yu “Oh”ed.

“The main reason is because he made it himself. Nobody likes him.”

Guan Pingjin, full of complaints, was worried where to vent, “He’s got that face but terrible relationships. Zhou Shenyi, you really need to reflect.”

“Get lost, go work.”

Zhou Shenyi was too busy to listen to his nonsense, and Guan Pingjin quickly left with the photos.

Ying Yu didn’t leave immediately — she hadn’t finished delivering something.

Zhou Shenyi looked tired and rubbed his nose bridge, loosening his tie and asked, “Any business after work?”

“No, no business.” Ying Yu jumped.

“My sister wants to invite you to dinner. It won’t take much time. Afterward, I’ll send you home… Do you want to go?”

“Oh, okay.”

Ying Yu hadn’t left when Zhou Shenyi sipped coffee and asked, “Anything else?”

“A little.”

Feeding the pet feeder on schedule, gaining goodwill.

Ying Yu walked over to his desk slowly. Zhou Shenyi, nervous, slid his chair backward.

“I’m not trying to touch you.” Ying Yu put the ugly orange on the corner of his desk.

“I’m not having a birthday. What gift?”

“A gift to commemorate exactly twenty days since Qingming Festival. Bye!” Ying Yu ran off like escaping.

Zhou Shenyi: “?”

Xini came in, saw the orange in Zhou Shenyi’s hand, and couldn’t help but laugh, “Who’s so unthoughtful as to give you an orange?”

“How so?”

“Trying to be your dad doesn’t have to be so obvious.”

Zhou Shenyi: “…”

“Hey, it’s an ugly orange, meaning you’re old and ugly.”

Thinking back to college days with Xini, a bit nostalgic, “Back then, every holiday I said I’d buy oranges for my roommates. In ‘The Back View’ it says, ‘You stay put here, I’ll go buy oranges.’ Just thinking about it—”

Why did Zhou Shenyi suddenly look dark?

A man’s heart is a deep sea, and Xini went out with her small feet in mind.

—

Night had fallen.

Zhou Shenyi drove Ying Yu back to Jade Villa community.

Zhou Buping was waiting at the door from afar, already pasting bright red “Fu” (luck) characters all over the first and second floors of the villa.

She originally wanted to paste “Xi” (happiness) but was persuaded by her husband not to.

Zhou Shenyi changed clothes first. Ying Yu was warmly linked arm-in-arm by Zhou Buping, “You’re about the same age as Shenyi. He calls me ‘sister,’ so you should too. When my son kicked you and hurt you, I really felt bad I didn’t call you. How about we exchange contact info now? Come on, I’ll scan you.”

Zhou Buping just like that ended up on Ying Yu’s friends list.

The dinner was ready on the table, but there was just too much food.

So much that Ying Yu had to ask, “Is anyone else coming?”

“No, just the three of us. Fan Fan went out to play and hasn’t come back. Don’t wait for him, let’s eat.”

Zhou Buping looked at Ying Yu with bright eyes and kept putting food on her plate.

Zhou Shenyi came out dressed in a black hoodie and slippers, hair still wet — probably just washed his face.

In just a short while, Ying Yu’s bowl was piled high with food.

She covered her face with her right hand and secretly signaled Zhou Shenyi for help.

I can’t finish this!

Zhou Shenyi remembered the orange grudge and smiled, placing a big piece of steak on her already overloaded bowl.

Ying Yu wanted to cry silently: What did I do to you?!

Zhou Shenyi grunted softly.

When they got in the car that night, Ying Yu already felt Zhou Shenyi was acting strange, but she hadn’t done anything to provoke him.

So she pouted silently.

Zhou Buping didn’t notice the subtle tension between them and kept chatting, “Xiao Ying, it’s my brother’s first time bringing a girl home for dinner. If you have any thoughts, just say them.”

Zhou Shenyi: “…”

You really are an expert at grafting.

Who said if I couldn’t bring you back, you couldn’t enter the family home?

Zhou Shenyi buried his head in his meal, thinking better not to risk ending up homeless tonight.

They were halfway through dinner when Zhou Fan finally came back from outside playing.

His chubby face was covered in snot, his clothes dirty with soil. He cried, “Mom, Xiaobai is missing. Its leg is injured. I want to take it to the vet, but I can’t find it anywhere, sob sob.”

Zhou Buping took a wet wipe and wiped his nose, “Alright, don’t cry. After dinner, I’ll have Aunt Wang come look for it with you, okay?”

“No, Xiaobai is hurt. If I don’t save it, it’ll die.”

No matter what they said, Zhou Fan wouldn’t agree.

Zhou Shenyi probably wouldn’t be able to eat peacefully tonight either. He looked at the time and planned to send Ying Yu home first, then help Zhou Fan look for the cat.

He hadn’t spoken when Ying Yu got up, squatted in front of Zhou Fan, held his hand, and gently touched his tear-streaked face.

“Fan Fan, don’t cry. I’ll come help find Xiaobai, okay?”

Zhou Fan sniffled, “Monster sister, can you really find it?”

“I can.” Ying Yu whispered a few words to his ear, and Zhou Fan immediately stopped crying, holding Ying Yu’s hand and walking outside.

Zhou Buping shouted, “Xiao Ying, don’t go out, it’s too dark!”

“No problem, sis. I’ll take care of Fan Fan. Don’t worry.”

One by one, they left.

Zhou Buping tried to follow but Zhou Shenyi stopped her, “Hey, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to check. Don’t worry about me.” Zhou Shenyi took two steps out, then came back to grab a pair of small white shoes at the door.

Ying Yu pulled Zhou Fan’s hand and shouted twice in monster language but got no response.

Maybe because the cat was timid and scared, or maybe it didn’t understand common monster language.

At this hour, she wasn’t sure if Long Qiuchiu was available to take the call.

Ying Yu cautiously called Long Qiuchiu, who immediately answered.

Long Qiuchiu whispered, “Jiang Jiuji is showering, speak quickly!”

Ying Yu quickly explained the situation about finding Xiaobai and asked her to help use cat language to find it.

The sound of water lessened — Jiang Jiuji was almost done.

Long Qiuchiu gritted her teeth and decided to give it her all.

Long Qiuchiu used cat language twice to broadcast the lost cat notice, then emotionally added: “Where are you? Where are you? I don’t have much time!”

After the call, Zhou Fan finally heard a meow: “Monster sister, I heard Xiaobai!”

“She said she’s in the southwest side in the rose bush, blocked by a big box and can’t get out.” Long Qiuchiu already heard Jiang Jiuji dressing and hurriedly hung up, “You have to bring cake to see me tomorrow!”

Ying Yu hurried to the rose bushes and heard the cat meowing. She told Zhou Fan to wait on the steps and went in to find the cat.

It was early spring, the rose bushes were cold and quiet, the branches full of thorns and dead twigs. Luckily, it was her going in; if it were Zhou Fan, his face would be scratched.

Ying Yu passed through the bushes and found the injured little white cat behind the box

Zhou Fan waved at her excitedly like he was seeing a superhero.

Reunited, Zhou Fan gave Ying Yu a sincere hug and took the cat.

In the darkness, Zhou Shenyi laughed softly, his handsome figure softened in the moonlight.

“Zhou Shenyi, we found Xiaobai!” Ying Yu smiled as she reported.

“Is your way of celebrating walking around in one shoe?”

Zhou Shenyi looked down — one slipper was gone, her sock covered in dried leaves.

“Maybe I lost it in the bushes. I’ll go look.”

Ying Yu was about to return, but Zhou Shenyi grabbed her arm.

“It’s dark — what if you step in poop?” He placed the small white shoes beside her foot. “Put them on. I’ll take you home.”

Ying Yu wobbled. Zhou Shenyi generously offered his arm as a support.

But Ying Yu stood steady as a crane — didn’t need him at all.

Zhou Shenyi awkwardly withdrew his hand and heard Ying Yu, crouching to tie her shoes, mutter:

“Zhou Shenyi, you’re clearly soft-hearted — why does everything you say have thorns?”

Zhou Shenyi didn’t say anything, even after seeing Ying Yu off.

The thorns had grown too long. They were now part of his body.

…

2 a.m., and Zhou Fan had kindergarten tomorrow.

He was woken by knocks on his head — once, twice, three times — until he opened his eyes.

He saw his uncle sitting by the bed watching him.

Zhou Fan was devastated, “Uncle, what are you doing!!”

“That self-reflection letter I asked you to write last time — where is it?” Zhou Shenyi reminded. “When you knocked out the monster sister with a football.”

Zhou Fan wrapped his blanket tightly and turned away in protest.

Zhou Shenyi ate an orange, poking the fish-shaped blanket with his foot: “I’ll give you a chance. Answer this question, and you won’t have to write it.”

Zhou Fan reluctantly responded, “What question.”

Zhou Shenyi felt strangely nervous: “Do you think your uncle has a sharp tongue?”

“Nope.” Zhou Fan answered seriously. “Mom says your mouth has thorns and you can’t talk nicely. It’s a chronic disease and will get worse. When I grow up, I’ll find the best doctor in the world to pull the thorns out of your mouth, then your mouth won’t be sick anymore.”

“You really are my good nephew.” Zhou Shenyi forced a smile. “Five thousand words. One typo adds a hundred.”

“UNCLE!!!!!!!”