The Green Tea Supporting Girl Is Still Playing Her Role Today (GL) - Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Amid the sounds of the Spring Festival Gala, everyone happily ate New Year’s Eve dinner together.

“Come on, let’s raise a glass! Wishing everyone joy every day!” Xie Zhifei said.

Zhao Xiaojing: “Get rich quick!”

Wang Wan: “Graduate smoothly!”

Zhang Changsheng: “Good health.”

Fang Ningshu: “Success at work.”

Wen Pinghan: “Happiness and well-being.”

Xie Hongxu chuckled and clinked his glass: “May all your wishes come true.”

The glasses made a crisp clinking sound, and everyone smiled as they took their first sip of wine, then dug into the meal with lively chatter.

In contrast, the Gu household felt far too quiet.

Gu’s mother sat in the spacious living room, calling Gu Zhizhang, but no one picked up.

“Madam, the food’s getting cold. Please come eat something,” the nanny said.

Gu’s mother looked at her bleakly: “Why don’t they come back? Everything I’ve done was for their own good. How come they all resent me now?”

The nanny didn’t know what to say and just gave a helpless smile.

“I’m not eating.” Gu’s mother waved her hand and went back to her room to sleep.

After dinner, some watched the Spring Festival Gala, while others played mahjong. The house was rarely this lively, and Xie Hongxu stayed at the mahjong table, happy whether he won or lost.

Wen Pinghan couldn’t keep up with their high-stakes game, so she pulled up a small stool and sat beside Xie Zhifei, who was next to Xie Hongxu, watching his cards and picking up some tips.

At that moment, Xie Zhifei reached around Xie Hongxu’s chair and took her hand.

Wen Pinghan turned her head, a slight smile curving her lips.

Zhang Changsheng, sitting across from them, noticed and quickly lowered her head to focus on her cards.

After a while, Xie Hongxu got a phone call and gave his seat to Xie Zhifei.

As Wen Pinghan watched, her gaze unconsciously shifted from the cards in Xie Zhifei’s hand to her profile. Holding a good hand, Xie Zhifei’s lips curled slightly, her eyes sparkling with a faint glow, her eyelashes seeming almost animated.

Wen Pinghan couldn’t help but stare, entranced.

Wang Wan glanced around and saw her staring at Xie Zhifei, so she curiously stared at Xie Zhifei too.

Zhao Xiaojing turned her head, noticed the two of them, and joined in, curiously staring at Xie Zhifei.

Zhang Changsheng looked over, puzzled.

Xie Zhifei, humming happily over her cards, looked up and saw everyone staring at her. She froze and said, “What are you all looking at? Play your cards! Watch me wipe the floor with you until you’re crying!”

After winning a big round, Xie Zhifei handed the seat to Wen Pinghan, patting the stack of cash in front of her: “Come on, practice your skills. Take from the people, use for the people.”

Wen Pinghan smiled and took her turn.

Not long after, she noticed Xie Zhifei wasn’t beside her anymore. She looked around, scanning the room.

“She’s in the bathroom,” Zhao Xiaojing muttered. “Miss her already after just a moment?”

“Yeah,” Wen Pinghan admitted openly.

Zhao Xiaojing practically rolled her eyes, thinking how sickeningly sweet these two were in love.

“It’s almost midnight! Come on, Uncle’s got a gift for you all,” Xie Hongxu called out.

Everyone looked at him curiously. With a grand wave, he led them to the courtyard, where a row of firework tubes and sparklers awaited.

“Anyone brave enough to light them?” Xie Hongxu asked with a grin.

“I’ll do it!” Xie Zhifei boldly took the lighter, lit the fireworks on the ground, and then ran back.

The fireworks behind her ignited, and Wen Pinghan watched as she ran from the fireworks to her side. They reached out and hugged each other at the same time.

“It’s just fireworks. Scared of that?” Zhao Xiaojing scoffed.

The others burst into laughter.

Xie Zhifei turned back, smiling at the fireworks bursting on the ground, then looked at Wen Pinghan, getting lost in her gentle gaze, nearly unable to resist kissing her.

“Let me handle it.” Xie Hongxu took the lighter from her and went to light the firework tubes.

The fireworks shot up into the night sky, exploding with loud bangs.

Everyone couldn’t help but tilt their heads back, smiles spreading across their faces.

Taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, Wen Pinghan quickly kissed Xie Zhifei’s cheek.

Xie Zhifei froze, then smiled and kissed her cheek back.

Just then, Xie Hongxu turned around, catching the moment, and gave a puzzled look.

Seeing this, Zhao Xiaojing sensed trouble and quickly ran over from the other side, planting a loud kiss on Xie Zhifei’s cheek.

Xie Hongxu: “??”

Zhao Xiaojing hurriedly went around kissing the other girls one by one.

Everyone: “???”

“What? Can’t I show my affection for you all?” Zhao Xiaojing panted, hands on her hips.

Xie Hongxu laughed: “Xiaojing, you’re such a free spirit.”

Xie Zhifei secretly gave her a thumbs-up, Wen Pinghan suppressed a giggle, Zhang Changsheng and Fang Ningshu saw through it but said nothing, while Wang Wan was purely stunned.

“Then I’ll show some affection too!” Wang Wan pursed her lips, about to kiss them, but everyone scattered.

“Hey! You guys are so rude! I’m gonna kiss you all!” Wang Wan chased after them, and the courtyard erupted into chaos.

Xie Hongxu laughed as they ran around the yard, especially Xie Zhifei, whose smile never faded, holding Wen Pinghan’s hand the whole time. The two hid behind a tree, and Xie Zhifei stole another kiss from Wen Pinghan.

“Haha, you young folks are so full of energy,” Xie Hongxu remarked.

The New Year’s bell rang at some point, and by the time everyone was exhausted, it was already 12:30 a.m. Xie Hongxu handed out big red envelopes to everyone, earning a chorus of thanks and praise.

They all went to wash up, with rooms arranged by Xie Hongxu, each person getting their own.

After the villa quieted down, a door opened, and a figure crept through the hallway, slipping into another room.

“Who’s there?” Wen Pinghan jumped in the dark, startled. She turned on the light and saw Xie Zhifei, laughing. “What are you doing?”

Xie Zhifei smiled, walked to her bed, and pulled a box from her pocket. “New Year’s gift.”

“What is it?” Wen Pinghan took it curiously. On top of the box was a small certificate with a line written on it.

—Congratulations to Wen Pinghan for winning Xie Zhifei’s Best Personal Choice Award of the Year.

“I promised you at the Ferris wheel that I’d give you this award by year’s end,” Xie Zhifei said with a grin.

Wen Pinghan recalled that moment when, to keep her at Qisheng, Xie Zhifei had said all sorts of nonsense, and now she’d actually followed through. Wen Pinghan couldn’t help but laugh. “Nice award. Thanks for choosing me, Chairman Xie. I’ll keep up the good work.”

“Good. Next time, I’ll give you a Lifetime Partner Achievement Award,” Xie Zhifei teased.

Wen Pinghan opened the box, revealing a photo album. Every picture was of her, yet she’d never seen them before.

“These are… when did you take these?” Wen Pinghan asked, laughing.

“When you weren’t paying attention, of course.” Xie Zhifei sat beside her, flipping through the album with her, explaining the context of each photo.

For the first time, Wen Pinghan saw herself from a second perspective. In Xie Zhifei’s lens and descriptions, she realized she smiled a lot—big laughs, shy giggles, gentle smiles…

The further back she flipped, the older the photos were, even from when she was still wary of Xie Zhifei. Yet, in those shots, she already looked stunning.

If the photographer hadn’t captured her with admiration, the photos wouldn’t have turned out so well.

She turned to stare at Xie Zhifei’s face, her eyes brimming with a smile.

“Keep looking,” Xie Zhifei said eagerly.

Wen Pinghan flipped to the last photo, taken of her playing tennis.

It was their second meeting.

But in the photo, as she swung her racket to hit the ball, a ring was pasted where the ball should be.

She touched the ring in surprise and looked at Xie Zhifei.

“Pretty?” Xie Zhifei asked, cupping her face expectantly.

Wen Pinghan stared at the ring, then took it out, examined it, and slipped it onto her middle finger. It fit perfectly.

“How did you know my size?” Wen Pinghan asked.

“I touched your hand enough to figure it out,” Xie Zhifei said with a cheeky grin. Seeing her skeptical look, she confessed, “Fine, I measured it the other night while you were asleep. So, do you like it?”

“Yeah.” Wen Pinghan admired it for a while, then glanced at Xie Zhifei’s hand.

Xie Zhifei showed her hand, wearing an identical ring on her middle finger. “I’ve got one too. Couple rings!”

Wen Pinghan smiled, placed their hands side by side, and looked at them from every angle before snapping a photo with her phone.

After a while, she sighed. “Your gift makes mine look a bit lame.”

“Huh? You got me a New Year’s gift too, Sis?” Xie Zhifei said, delighted.

“I was going to give it to you tomorrow morning.” Wen Pinghan got out of bed, pulled a scarf from her bag, and said, “I knitted one for you last night too.”

Xie Zhifei was amazed. “How did I not notice?”

“You fell asleep early.”

“Ugh, I’m the worst!” Xie Zhifei took the scarf. She’d thought Wen Pinghan had only stayed up knitting one for her dad, but she’d made one for her too, with an even prettier pattern, clearly made with extra care.

“What time did you sleep last night?” Xie Zhifei asked.

“Five-thirty.”

“So you barely slept?” Xie Zhifei’s nose twitched, tears welling up. “Now I get why my dad was so smitten over a scarf. Who could resist this? Wahhh…”

“Come on, it’s not that serious.” Wen Pinghan laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes and hugging her head, whispering, “Don’t cry too loud, or you’ll wake the others.”

“Mmm…” Xie Zhifei nuzzled into her, wiping her tears on her, then looked up and kissed her lips. Wen Pinghan responded more passionately than ever before, and Xie Zhifei, moved by her emotions, wanted to give her everything.

Wen Pinghan touched her cheeks, her hair, her body, feeling her warmth, but at the critical moment, she grew shy, unsure what to do.

Xie Zhifei pulled her down, laughing. “Sis, let me take the lead. I’ve got more experience.”

“What experience?” Wen Pinghan squinted.

“Watching videos, cramming some last-minute knowledge.”

“Don’t you trust me, Sis?” Xie Zhifei looked at her with innocent eyes.

“If I mess up, just tell me to stop, okay?”

“Sis, why aren’t you saying anything? Are you mad at me?”

“Just do it already, stop dawdling,” Wen Pinghan said, exasperated.

Xie Zhifei perked up. “Watch and learn!”