As they spoke, they saw Qi Chengyan return, holding a wild chicken.
"Chengyan, your sister is here."
Qi Chengyan grunted, "Why did you come all of a sudden?"
Qi Yang recounted the situation at home again.
"Mom even said she wanted to come here to find you and give Zhou Qi an explanation. What a joke."
Cherishing a fake as a treasure, and abandoning her biological son.
After starting her job, Qi Yang returned home less and less frequently. Now, she wasn't even coming back for Chinese New Year.
Qi Chengyan said calmly, "You don't need to pay attention to it."
"I'm not paying attention. I just saw their family of three living in harmony and happiness, so I came to find you."
Cheng You quickly said, "Sister, I'll tidy up a room for you. You can stay with us for a while. There's also a hot spring behind the mountain. I'll take you there another day."
"Okay! Tell me which room, I can tidy it myself."
Coming to bother her already made Qi Yang feel bad. How could she let her do more work?
Cheng You led her into the house, "My brother lives next door, but he just started high school. He's tutoring a classmate these days and won't be back until tomorrow."
Qi Yang smiled and nodded. She wasn't a pampered young lady and could do things herself. After putting down her things, she began to fetch water and wipe down the bed frame.
Cheng You took out a mattress from the room and turned to Qi Chengyan, "Go to the kitchen to prepare the hot pot base. I'll help Sister make the bed."
Qi Chengyan grunted and turned to leave.
Qi Yang quickly said, "No, no, Cheng You, you should go. Let Chengyan make the bed. He doesn't know how to cook." She didn't want their first meal here to be so unpalatable.
Cheng You smiled, "He can. I taught him."
"What?" Qi Yang was stunned.
Qi Chengyan actually learned to cook? Her arrogant brother was actually willing to cook for his wife.
Qi Yang was curious and followed them into the kitchen to watch. She indeed saw Qi Chengyan busy at work, his movements skillful, clearly not his first time doing this.
Qi Yang was amazed, completely unable to believe that this man was the Qi Chengyan from the army. She remembered that the soldiers under Qi Chengyan had given him a nickname in private: the Iron-Faced King of Hell. He was ruthless to his own soldiers, let alone his enemies. This was the first time she had seen such a tough man show tenderness.
"Little Youzi, you've trained him well."
Cheng You felt that when it came to Qi Chengyan, she couldn't use the word "train." Many things he did voluntarily, without Cheng You even needing to say anything.
Cheng You had bought a Yin-Yang pot earlier, with one side for spicy broth and the other for chicken soup. The chicken soup was simmered with chicken bones and radishes. The heat wasn't quite enough yet, but the flavor was already rich. The chicken meat had been deboned by Cheng You and sliced into pieces for dipping in the pot later.
"Sister, please sit down. Everything is prepared in a hurry. For the New Year's Eve dinner, I'll prepare some good wine and dishes to entertain you."
Although there wasn't much meat, there was enough food. Qi Yang was not picky; when she was busy in the lab, she ate cold meals and cold dishes. What Cheng You had made was already excellent food for her.
Qi Yang had a light palate and couldn't eat too much spicy food, but she preferred to dip ingredients into the spicy broth, being the type who was bad at it but loved it. After eating for a while, her nose and eyes were running from the spice, and she even took off her jacket.
The cold wind howled outside, and eating hot pot indoors felt wonderful. After eating and drinking their fill, Qi Yang's mind became a little hazy. Looking at Qi Chengyan sitting opposite her, her thoughts drifted.
She didn't know how long it had been since she sat down to eat Chinese New Year's Eve dinner with this brother. She always felt that she was also responsible for the hardships Qi Chengyan had endured. But he had completely shut his heart off from his family, making it impossible for her to be good to him. Fortunately, he had now found someone with whom he could open his heart. It was good.
"Sister, it's too late. I'll get some hot water. You can wipe yourself down, and bathe tomorrow."
Qi Yang wouldn't let her do it. "I can do it myself. You clean up first, then go rest."
When she turned around, Qi Chengyan had already cleared the mess on the table.
Qi Yang sighed, he was truly a good man for the household. Cheng You also simply wiped herself down, changed her clothes, and prepared to go back to her room to rest.
When Qi Yang went to get hot water, she saw Qi Chengyan also coming to get some.
"Are you... taking a bath?"
Qi Chengyan didn't answer but said, "Sleep early." Then, she saw him carrying the hot water into the room.
Qi Yang was too curious. What was he doing carrying hot water into the room?
After Qi Yang finished wiping herself, she came out and knocked on Cheng You's door. She saw that it was just ajar and not closed, so she gently pushed it open.
"Little Youzi..."
What she saw was astonishing. Qi Chengyan was washing Cheng You's feet! She had probably finished soaking them and was now using a towel to dry Cheng You's feet. After drying them, he even put socks on her fair and tender feet.
Qi Yang: "!!!" It was so sudden.
Cheng You was already accustomed to it and didn't feel embarrassed at all. "Sister, what is it?"
After a long while, Qi Yang found her voice again. "I forgot to bring my snow cream. Do you have any here?"
"Yes, use the Seven-Flower Cream. It's good for the skin."
Cheng You was about to go down and get it, but Qi Chengyan stopped her. "I'll get it."
Qi Chengyan took an unopened jar from the dressing table and handed it to her. "Sister, go to sleep early."
Qi Yang grunted and closed the door for them. She still felt shocked; her brother had changed so much. Then she thought that perhaps it wasn't a change, but rather that he had finally found someone with whom he could show his warmth, someone who wasn't there before but is now present.
Even though she was in an unfamiliar place, Qi Yang slept very well and slept soundly until morning. She woke up feeling refreshed.
"Sister, wash up. I've cooked noodles. Today the village is slaughtering pigs for the New Year. We'll go get our share of the meat."
Qi Chengyan was capable and earned a lot of work points throughout the year. Since Cheng You also earned work points from Uncle Li, together they could get a good amount of meat. After eating the noodles, Qi Yang went out with Cheng You.
Looking around carefully, she saw that everything was decorated with red lanterns and new couplets, exuding a strong festive atmosphere. Compared to the New Year's celebrations she had in her previous home, she realized she had never truly experienced this feeling before. The New Year at home had always been about the harmony of her parents and Zhou Qi's family of three, with no connection to her or Qi Chengyan.
"Sister, wait here. I'll go in and get the meat." The scene of pig slaughtering wasn't pleasant.
Qi Yang didn't mind at all and followed her in. "I haven't seen a pig being slaughtered before. I'll watch."
They had arrived relatively late, and many people were already waiting to get their share of the meat. Qi Yang looked ahead and saw various cuts of meat laid out separately, with offal also placed to the side. Cheng You asked for pork belly, ribs, pig intestines, and pig head meat, taking a bit of everything. According to their work points, they received a large bag full.