The cold air outside the house was howling fiercely, the hotpot in the room was boiling, and a layer of condensation had plastered on the windows…

Song Fengwan scooped up a few leaves of spinach from the pot of chili oil and added some sesame oil. She ate with relish while drinking Coke.

Fu Chen raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t realized that this girl enjoyed such strong flavors of food.

Qiao Aiyun was very happy. She ate hotpot and drank some liquor. Her face was pink from the heat. Yan Wangchuan didn’t eat much and just kept looking at her…

When their gazes met occasionally, he hurriedly looked away again.

He was like a young boy who had never been in love, and there was a faint blush behind his ears.

Qiao Wangbei lowered his head and ate the mutton, fuming.

If you want to look, you should look openly. What are you hiding?

He’s already so old, yet he’s still pretending to be innocent. Does he really want to spend his last years alone?

It makes me feel anxious just by looking at him. He’s worse than juniors when it comes to getting along with others.

He’s lived to his forties for nothing.

“Aunt Yun, I have something to discuss with you. It’s about Wanwan.” Fu Chen put down his chopsticks with a serious expression.

When Song Fengwan saw his expression, her heart skipped a beat. Could he want to…?

“What about Wanwan?” Qiao Aiyun had already gone dizzy with a few nice words from him.

“Wanwan and I…”

“Cough, cough—” Song Fengwan choked on a mouthful of chili. She coughed for a long time, choking until her whole body was burning.

“What are you doing?” Qiao Aiyun passed her a glass of water. Song Fengwan gulped down the big glass before the fire in her throat dissipated.

“Fu Chen, tell me. What’s the matter with you and Wanwan?”

“I promised her to take her out to ski after her exam. You were busy previously, so I didn’t intend to mention this. Now that everything is settled, I’m seeking your opinion.

“The place is overseas and visa-free. A friend of mine and a child will also be there, for a total of four people.

“If you don’t think it’s safe, pretend I never mentioned it.”

Fu Chen spoke very politely, and his logic was clear. He had initially promised Song Fengwan, so this was not a last-minute decision.

Qiao Aiyun looked at Song Fengwan. “Is that so?”

“Yeah.” Song Fengwan nodded guiltily. It seemed that this was really the case. Recently, she had been thinking about how to ask her mother for permission to go out for New Year’s Eve. She didn’t expect Fu Chen to speak up for her directly.

The reason was very valid.

“Won’t it be too troublesome?” Qiao Aiyun kept feeling that she had been troubling Fu Chen and felt very embarrassed.

“Not at all…”

“Wanwan, do you want to go?” It was not appropriate for Qiao Aiyun to reject him, so she had to seek Song Fengwan’s opinion.

Song Fengwan bit a vegetable leaf and nodded silently.

Qiao Aiyun would be busy the following days. She had to hand over her assets and transfer the properties to Fengwan. She had to go to many departments and work hard, so she would be busy for a while and wouldn’t be able to take care of Song Fengwan at all. It would be New Year’s Day soon, and the school was also closed for the holidays. She initially wanted her to stay in Suzhou for a few days.

If Fu Chen was willing to take care of her, it would also be good if she could go out to play and relax for a couple of days.

“How about this? I’ll pay for your trip overseas this time. Don’t fuss over this with me.” Qiao Aiyun looked at Fu Chen.

Fu Chen nodded and glanced at Song Fengwan.

She lowered her head, her face red, unsure whether it was due to the spiciness or shyness.

Yan Wangchuan looked at Fu Chen. He couldn’t understand how someone could lie through their teeth. He obviously had evil intentions.

“Go out and play. I will also sponsor you a little,” Qiao Wangbei said with a smile.

“Thank you, Uncle.” Song Fengwan hadn’t expected Fu Chen to want to bring her overseas. Her mood suddenly soared to the heavens, and her whole body felt light and fluttery…

“You said there will be a child just now. Is he your friend’s child?” Qiao Aiyun asked casually.

“No, he’s a child who is staying in our house for the time being. He’s from a temple…” Fu Chen briefly explained the situation.

Upon hearing his words, Qiao Aiyun kept praising him.

Fu Chen successfully gained a good impression from her again.

Yan Wangchuan raised his eyebrows and lowered his head to poke at his bowl. A few vegetable leaves had already been crushed by his jabbing.

In the past, he had only thought that this brat was a wily old fox. He hadn’t expected him to be so glib.

***

After eating the hotpot, Qiao Aiyun had already drunk a lot of alcohol and was a little tipsy. Usually, she wasn’t able to let herself go, but she was in a good mood today, so she naturally didn’t control her alcohol intake.

“Wanwan, help clean up the table with me. Senior Brother, please take Aiyun upstairs to rest. It’s the first room on the right,” Qiao Wangbei said. I’ve already helped him to this extent. If he still doesn’t understand, I will really give up all hope.

Yan Wangchuan walked to Qiao Aiyun’s side. “Let’s go. I’ll take you back to your room.”

“No need. I can walk by myself.”

“I’ll send you.”

“There’s really no need. It’s my house. I can feel my way back even when I’m asleep.” Qiao Aiyun knew how he felt about her. But the two of them had always been very distant, and it wasn’t easy to accept suddenly getting close to each other within a day or two.

Yan Wangchuan stood in front of her, immovable like an imperious god.

Qiao Aiyun had no choice. “Okay, I’ll let you send me. Let’s go upstairs.”

Yan Wangchuan nodded.

Qiao Wangbei was so angry that he nearly threw the plate in his hand at him.

“Senior Brother, the staircase shakes. She’s drunk, so support her a little.” He enunciated each word clearly, as though he was on the verge of breaking down.

Yan Wangchuan hesitated for a moment before raising his hand to hold her arm. “Let’s go. I’ll help you.”

Fu Chen took a look and lowered his head to suppress his laughter.

…

After a minute, everyone saw Yan Wangchuan coming down the stairs.

Qiao Aiyun was lying on the bed and let out a muffled laugh. He actually only sent me to the door and told me to rest properly before turning around to leave…

Soon, she heard Qiao Wangbei’s exasperated voice coming from downstairs.

“Why did you come down?!”

“What am I going to do if I don’t come down?”

“…” Qiao Wangbei was obviously infuriated. “You still have the cheek to ask me that?”

“I’m your senior brother. You have to watch your words when you talk to me.” Yan Wangchuan suddenly became serious.

“Then you can be my senior brother for the rest of your life.” He was really pissed.

Song Fengwan held back her laughter and poured a glass of warm water for Yan Wangchuan.

“Thank you, but I’m not thirsty.”

Song Fengwan laughed out loud and nearly spilled the water. “Please bring my mother a glass of water. She might be a little unwell after drinking. Please talk to her for a while.”

Only then did Yan Wangchuan seem to remember something. He took the glass stiffly and went upstairs again awkwardly.

Qiao Wangbei flung the tablecloth away, too angry to speak.

Qiao Aiyun’s head hurt a little, but she didn’t take off her clothes. She wrapped herself in her blanket and leaned against the bedhead. Yan Wangchuan knocked on the door and entered. He put down the glass but didn’t speak. The two looked at each other in silence.

He simply stood by the bed…

… staring at her without blinking…

… with reddened ears.

Qiao Aiyun also wanted to see how stuffy he could be. After a long time, the first thing he said was, “The water is getting cold.”

What an awkward person.

***

Song Fengwan and Fu Chen left for overseas on the morning of December 31st. They had a three-hour flight and could have lunch there by the time they arrived.

It was three days and two nights.

Qiao Aiyun had helped her pack a lot of luggage, fearing that she would catch a cold there.

“There’s too much. Third Master has already prepared everything for me.” Song Fengwan felt that there was too much luggage and that it would be a burden. She would have to lug her luggage around for a few days, which would be time and energy-consuming.

“How can you rely on him for everything? Aren’t you embarrassed to trouble him so much?”

Song Fengwan was speechless.

She was too embarrassed to say: ‘He’s wooing me. He must be diligent.’

Before she left, Qiao Aiyun kept reminding her to be obedient and not cause trouble for Fu Chen.

Qiao Wangbei stuffed a bank card in her hand. “Have fun and be careful.”

“Thank you, Uncle.” Song Fengwan didn’t stand on ceremony.

But Yan Wangchuan walked in front of her and whispered, “Have fun. Be careful of Fu Chen.”

Song Fengwan’s body stiffened. She didn’t know how to answer, so she could only smile and nod.

When Song Fengwen got in the car at night, she had a suspicious look on her face. Why did Uncle Yan tell me to be careful of Third Master?

***

Meanwhile, in a ski resort overseas…

Duan Linbai and Huai Sheng had arrived a day earlier. On the 30th, they reached the hotel at 11 o’clock at night. By the time they washed up, it was already 1 a.m.

Huai Sheng could take care of himself completely. Duan Linbai kept praising him for being sensible.

But the next morning, he broke down…

At 5:30 a.m. Beijing time…

The sound of wooden fish knocking and chanting filled his room.

When he got on the plane for security checks previously, he had felt that it was strange.

Who the f*ck would bring a wooden fish on a vacation? I should have thrown this lousy wooden fish away at the airport.

“Huai Sheng, what are you doing? Aren’t you sleepy this early in the morning?” Duan Linbai tried his best to keep a smile on his face as he resisted the urge to throw him out the window.

“I’m having my morning class. I told you last night, and you also agreed. Uncle Duan, go to sleep. I still have to study for an hour. You don’t have to accompany me.”

“I…” Duan Lin was about to let loose a swear word when he swallowed it back down. He couldn’t curse in front of a child.

Last night, Huai Sheng had indeed asked for his opinion. He had been extremely tired at the time, and his mind had been dizzy. Besides, how could he have known that he was serious?

“Go to sleep quickly. It’s not even daybreak yet.” Huai Sheng looked innocent.

Duan Linbai was about to go crazy. So you also know that the sun hasn’t risen yet?

“I can’t fall asleep like this.” Duan Linbai was a straightforward person, so he spoke directly, implying that he had disturbed him.

Huai Sheng blinked. “This means you’re not sleepy yet. In the past, when I was sleepy, I could fall asleep even while standing. Now that you don’t feel like sleeping even when lying in bed, it means you’re not sleepy enough.”

Duan Linbai lay on the bed, wanting to commit suicide by disemboweling himself.

Fu Chen, did you deliberately send this little monk to mess with me?

He finally understood why Sun Wukong was so afraid of Monk Tang. He could really chant him to death.