1RomanceEB Chapter 7 Spring Festival
Chapter 7 Spring Festival
In the blink of an eye, a month has quietly slipped away, and the course progress bar has already passed one-third. And just then, the most important festival in China—the Spring Festival—arrived.
"From today until the tenth of the lunar month, we will have a holiday. Please don't get it wrong, students." The teacher stood on the podium with a smile and announced the good news in a gentle tone.
The students below the stage were all overjoyed, their eyes practically overflowing with excitement, but they had to suppress it as much as possible because the teacher was present, and dared not show it too much. Even the usually sensible and well-behaved Xixi couldn't help but smile, her feet gently swinging under her desk, unable to hide her inner joy.
Only Xie Anran beside her remained expressionless, even revealing a hint of barely concealed displeasure.
"The music instructors are taking so many days off, no wonder they can't keep up in the future," Xie Anran muttered to himself, his heart filled with resentment. To him, every minute and second was as precious as life itself, as his lifespan was ticking away. But this two-week break seemed utterly irresponsible to him.
Of course, he only dared to keep these complaints to himself and didn't dare to say a word out loud—after all, it was too illogical; what child would hate a holiday?
"Anran, what are your plans for the holiday?" Qianqian looked like she was looking forward to the holiday, her little face full of bright smiles, and she had already started to imagine the happy times that would come during the holiday.
Xie Anran remained silent; he hadn't really thought about this question properly.
"I want to sleep in until noon, and then watch cartoons all day long!" Sisi waved her little hands, making plans on her own, her tone full of longing.
"Oh, not bad," Xie Anran replied perfunctorily, her eyes showing little emotion.
"What about you? How about we watch cartoons together?" Sisi blinked her round eyes, looking at him expectantly, her tone pleading.
"We'll see when the time comes." Xie Anran didn't agree, thinking to himself that he was too lazy to waste time watching cartoons with the little girl.
When the school bell rang, Xie Anran and Qianqian waited together at the classroom door for their family to pick them up—actually, it was Liu Xiaoli. His parents were busy with audits at the end of the year, so the task of picking him up from school naturally fell to Liu Xiaoli, since the two families lived right across from each other, which was convenient.
Not long after, Liu Xiaoli arrived. She immediately noticed the undisguised smile on her daughter's face, her whole being radiating joy, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Qianqian, what happy thing happened at school today? You look so happy."
"Tomorrow is a holiday!" Sisi smiled, her eyes crinkling, her voice soft.
Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaoli smiled helplessly, then turned to Xie Anran, who stood calmly to the side, her expression unreadable, and asked gently, "Anran, what about you? You're also looking forward to the holiday, aren't you?"
"Huh? It's alright, anyway, I just stay at home during the holidays." Xie Anran replied casually, without any expectation in his tone. Indeed, he wasn't in good health, and his parents didn't feel comfortable letting him go out to play. When he had nothing to do, he would stay at home reading books and pondering music theory, so his days were no different from a holiday.
Liu Xiaoli was taken aback, and for some reason felt that Xie Anran seemed to have already accepted his current situation. But he was, after all, just a seven-year-old child. How could he be so clearly aware that his body was different from other children? She wondered to herself, but didn't ask any more questions.
……
Back in the apartment complex, Xie Anran was held tightly by Qianqian's hand, the two little ones obediently following behind Liu Xiaoli. Just as they reached the top of the stairs, Liu Xiaoli suddenly stopped. Xie Anran looked up and saw a refined-looking man standing in the stairwell, wearing a clean shirt and exuding a gentle demeanor.
"Daddy!" Before Xie Anran could even remember who the other person was, Qianqian, who was beside him, rushed over like a happy little bird and shouted loudly.
The information about this person flashed through Xie Anran's mind instantly—Teacher An, Liu Xiaoli's husband, and also Qianqian's father. He had forgotten that Teacher An would be coming back today.
"My darling Sisi~" Teacher An smiled, bent down, picked up her daughter, her tone full of affection, and gently ruffled her hair.
"Uncle An." Xie Anran stood still and greeted him politely, his expression remaining unchanged.
"It's An Ran," Teacher An looked down at him, her smile gentle. "How have you been lately? Have you been eating well?"
"I'm much better, thank you for your concern, Uncle An." Xie Anran replied mechanically, her tone flat, as if she were completing a task.
Just then, Liu Xiaoli suddenly spoke up, saying in a calm tone, "Qianqian, why don't you go to Anran's house to play for a while? Your father and I have a few things to discuss."
"Oh..." Upon hearing this, Xixi obediently slid down from her father's arms, walked to Xie Anran's side, gently tugged at his clothes, and the smile on her face faded a bit.
"Is this the atmosphere before an adult argument?" Xie Anran keenly noticed that the atmosphere in the air had suddenly changed, subtly revealing a sense of tension and oppression, as if the air itself had frozen. Beside her, Qianqian had lost her earlier exuberance; her little hands were tightly gripping the hem of her clothes, her face full of unease, and her eyes held a hint of confusion.
Xie Anran silently took out her house key from her pocket, waved it at Qianqian, and tried to soften her tone as much as possible: "Come on, Qianqian, let's go to my house and drink AD calcium milk."
"Hey? Mom, can I drink it?" When Xixi heard that there was AD calcium milk, her eyes lit up instantly, her unease subsided a bit, and she looked at Liu Xiaoli with longing eyes.
Looking at her daughter's expression, Liu Xiaoli couldn't help but laugh, and said helplessly, "You're only allowed to drink one bottle, no more."
"Yay! Anran, let's go!" Qianqian suddenly became excited again, grabbed Xie Anran's hand and rushed towards the opposite door, as if her previous unease had been thrown to the winds.
The two little ones went into the house, and the moment the door closed, Liu Xiaoli slowly raised her eyes to look at Teacher An in front of her, her tone instantly turning cold: "Speak, what is it?"
"It's just a divorce, we're not really enemies, why are you making such a face?" Faced with Liu Xiaoli's assertiveness, Teacher An's gentle expression softened, and her tone carried a hint of helplessness.
"Don't give me that nonsense, I don't have time for your idle chatter." Liu Xiaoli frowned, her tone full of impatience.
"I just want... to let Qianqian come to my house for a New Year's Eve dinner during the Spring Festival." Teacher An's tone softened, with a hint of pleading.
"Thank you, but no need." Liu Xiaoli refused without even thinking, her tone showing no softening whatsoever.
……
On the other side, Xie Anran moved a small stool, tiptoed, took out AD calcium milk from the cabinet, inserted a straw, and handed it to Qianqian. She then turned on the TV and switched to the cartoon channel. Although Qianqian was drinking the AD calcium milk with relish, her eyes kept drifting towards the door, and she looked somewhat dazed, clearly not really interested in watching the cartoon.
After a few seconds of silence, Sisi suddenly looked up and asked softly, "Anran, are Mom and Dad... arguing?"
"Huh?" Xie Anran looked at Qianqian as if she had seen a ghost, her eyes full of surprise. "Why would you think that?"
"Every time Mom and Dad ask me to leave so they can talk alone, they argue." Sisi hugged her AD calcium milk bottle, her little head slightly drooping, her voice filled with disappointment and a hint of sobs. "I haven't seen Dad in so long. Does he not want me anymore?"
"Well... let the adults handle their own affairs." Xie Anran gently patted Qianqian's shoulder, her tone much softer than usual. "We kids just need to do our own things and not think too much."
"Ah? But... what will we do if we don't have a dad?" Sisi looked up, her eyes red and pleading, tears welling up in her eyes.
"It's alright," Xie Anran sighed inwardly. He knew he couldn't make Liu Xiaoli and Teacher An remarry, so he could only try to comfort Qianqian. "You still have your mother, right? And you still have me as a friend. Besides, there are many other people who want you to be happy and won't let you be lonely."
Sisi blinked her red eyes, looked at Xie Anran, and suddenly said, "Anran, you seem like an adult."
"Huh? Why do you say that?" Xie Anran was stunned for a moment, feeling a little confused. He had clearly tried to act childish, so how could he still be seen through?
"You don't cry or make a fuss, and you're not naughty at all, completely different from Zihao and the others." Xixi gestured with her little hand and said earnestly, then added softly, "Thank you, Anran."
"Oh..." Xie Anran was a little at a loss. After a few seconds of silence, he leaned back on the sofa and sighed softly, "Qianqian, if you ever have anything that makes you unhappy, remember to tell me. I'll be there for you."
"Anran, you're so kind!" Sisi finally smiled again and said happily.
"Oh...don't talk while drinking milk, you've sprayed it all over me." Xie Anran said, feigning disgust, but a subtle, almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"Really? Don't talk nonsense, I didn't..." Sisi quickly covered her mouth, defending herself with an innocent look.
"Okay, okay, no, no, stop talking and drink your milk." Xie Anran shook her head helplessly, but her eyes were full of smiles.