Chapter 40: The Girl on New Year's Eve (Part 2) First Update

  First update seeking recommendations~

  Yesterday was a card, today didn't move the keyboard all day, started coding in the afternoon when I got home, feeling much better... so it's late, sorry~

  Thank you for the rewards from San Kuai Yi and Lang Gong Wu, thank you for the evaluation votes from San Kuai Yi and Lang Gong Wu, and thank you for the update votes from Luo Ye Tian!

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  The air conditioner is turned up high, the whole house is warm and cozy, the door to the balcony is closed, and the curtains are drawn, unable to see the dark night sky outside being ravaged by wind and snow, so I feel at ease.

  In the spacious living room, the orange-yellow light quietly poured down, filling the entire space with warm colors. From the kitchen came the sound of stir-frying, and on the neatly arranged dining table, bowls and chopsticks were already set out. Taeyeon sat stiffly at the lower left seat, her head slightly lowered, but her eyes kept secretly glancing across the table.

  There, Zhixiu listlessly fiddled with the bowls and chopsticks, the ceramic spoon and bowl colliding occasionally, emitting a soft, pleasant sound.

  "They really look alike..."

  Looking at that face, Taeyeon once again secretly sighed in amazement. As for Jisoo, she had actually known about her for a long time. Ahn Jun-hee had told her before that he had a twin sister, and later when they played together, Yoon-ah and Soo-young also mentioned it, describing how similar Ahn Jun-hee and Ahn Jisoo looked as siblings, but she hadn't seen it with her own eyes and didn't have an accurate concept.

  This was still the first meeting between the two of them, and the process wasn't too ideal. Moreover, it didn't leave a very good impression on her either.

  When she thought of Ji-soo frowning and coldly asking who she was, and then immediately becoming impatient and wheeling herself away after her response, Tae-yeon felt very hurt.

  Two people who look so similar, how can their personalities be so different? The girl pouted slightly, feeling a bit wronged. Of course, it was only a little, she had heard from Rong Er that her sister's eccentric personality was due to the car accident that left her legs paralyzed, and in fact, she felt more sympathy for her.

  At least she can't imagine what the world would be like if her legs were paralyzed, it might be so gloomy that she couldn't bear the blow and die.

  Those who can strongly withstand all difficulties and hardships without being defeated are after all a minority.

  Thinking so, that little bit of grievance in her heart disappeared. She paused for a moment, took a deep breath and asked softly: "Sister is a fan of Bao Er's senior, right?"

  Across from her, Ji Hoon stopped fiddling with his spoon and chopsticks, raised his head to look at her indifferently, his eyes exerting a strong pressure that made Tae Yeon feel like the last time Ahn Jun Heo had joked around with her, intentionally putting on a cold face. She swallowed hard, suppressing the fear in her heart, and continued: "I'm also a fan of Bao Er's senior, I have collected many posters and records of senior at home, this time when I go back, can I bring them to show sister?"

  It seemed that he had sensed her deliberate flattery, and Ji Xiu's icy gaze relaxed slightly, before looking away and saying, "I don't like her now."

  "Huh?"

  "She and Jun-hyuk are rumored to be in a scandalous relationship, I hate her!"

  "That...that's fake, it's said that the company instructed them to hype it up." Taeyeon hurriedly explained.

  "I know it's fake, that's why I hate it." Zhī Xiù let out an impatient hum, "As if she had gained a lot of glory from it, what's so great about it?"

  Taeyeon didn't dare to speak, her two hands were placed neatly on her legs and she sat with her head down, like a fat rabbit that had stolen a carrot, timid and slightly restless, her two legs under the table kept moving slightly.

  Although she is introverted, she actually dislikes oppressive atmosphere and feels suffocated. Especially now, facing unfamiliar people with nothing to say, she always wants to escape quickly. Fortunately, not long after, Ahn Jun-hee poked his head out of the kitchen and saw her in the living room, calling out: "Taeyeon, are you done washing? Come help me carry the dishes!"

  "Ah!" The girl hastily responded and ran over quickly.

  The kitchen was now filled with the aroma of dishes, and on the large counter, several stir-fried dishes were already laid out. The girl's mouth watered as she looked carefully, finding that she only recognized two dishes: braised salmon fillets and stir-fried bamboo shoots, which they had ordered at a Chinese restaurant last time. Oh, and there was also the aroma of fermented bean paste. Following her gaze, she saw a small pot simmering over low heat.

  "Can you make a bean paste soup too?" Taeyeon sucked on the corner of her mouth. Since coming to Hancheng, she hadn't had a chance to drink a big pot of bean paste soup made with fermented soybean paste for a long time. Over here in Hancheng, they all used chili paste instead and even liked to add sugar, which she wasn't accustomed to at all.

  "Yes, my mom is from Gyeongbuk, that's how they do it there. You're from Jeonbuk, which is close by, so you should like this flavor, right?"

  "Mmm!" Taeyeon nodded repeatedly.

  "Alright, bring the dishes over, finish stir-frying this dish, then boil the soup again and we can start eating!"

  Tae-yeon, who had been starving for a long time, hastily rolled up her sleeves and busied herself back and forth. Seeing Ahn Jun-hee busy stir-frying vegetables, she took the initiative to pour soup from the pot and even helped cut radishes, preparing ingredients for boiling soup later. She was quite efficient in doing chores.

  As he carelessly poured a spoonful of oil, the flames suddenly shot up, and Ahn Jun-ho shook the pot while chatting casually: "Does Tae-hyun often help her mom with household chores?"

  "Oh, occasionally!"

  "Alas, compared to Bi Yun and the others, those few girls are much worse. Every time they enter the kitchen, they only know how to cause trouble." An Junhe sighed, "Only Yu Li is a bit stronger, it seems that us country kids are more down-to-earth. City kids who grow up in big cities won't even be able to take care of their families after getting married!"

  Tae-yeon, who was cutting the beef and radish, playfully bumped into him with a blush: "Brother, you're really something, marriage is still far away from them!"

  "It's still far away, in my hometown, getting married at 16 is very normal. I remember when I joined the army, a classmate of mine was holding his child and seeing me off, everyone thought she was my wife and advised me not to enlist voluntarily, or else my 'wife' would run away with our child."

  "Pfft!" Hearing him say that in such a helpless tone, Taeyeon couldn't help but imagine the scene and burst out laughing. She raised her hand and playfully hit him a few times, "Brother is so annoying, how can you say such realistic things in front of a girl? I haven't even had my first love yet, now I won't dare to believe in love anymore."

  An Junhe shrugged: "It's better if you don't believe it."

  "Brother, don't you believe me?" The girl asked curiously. She knew that An Junhe must have had emotional experiences, but she had never heard him mention it before.

  "Uh-huh!" An Junhe casually replied, then changed the subject and instructed: "Before dinner, go call your dad first, it's snowing so heavily outside, tell him not to come over, in case something happens... Ah, my phone is hanging on my waist, get it yourself!"

  Taeyeon replied, fiddling with her clothes and phone, "Don't let dad come over, where am I sleeping tonight?"

  "Dormitory, go find your roommate for the key, don't you remember her phone number?"

  "Uh, it's always been on my phone, I haven't deliberately memorized it."

  Embarrassed by the girl's question, An Junhe could only respond with a wry smile, then thought for a moment before saying: "Why don't you sleep here?"

  "Huh?"

  Tae-yeon, who had been staring down at the keyboard, suddenly lifted her head, her face bright red like a cooked shrimp. Her wide eyes were filled with embarrassment and panic, her heart seemed to have skipped a beat before racing wildly, and her ears buzzed loudly.

  Or you sleep here... sleep here... here...

  For a moment, the chaotic brain was replaying this sentence, except for that, it was blank, and then many messy thoughts suddenly came up:

  Did you hear that wrong... Is he joking? ... How can he say such casual words... Should I agree to it? ... Not agreeing seems like there's really nowhere to sleep...

  "Ah, how can you all consider whether to agree or not? Kim Tae-yeon, be reserved! Be more reserved!!" She slapped her forehead hard, and the girl tried to put on a straight face, pretending to be disgusted. Just as she was about to scold him for tempting a young girl to stay overnight with some ulterior motive, Ahn Jun-hee continued: ".... Ji-soo's room bed is not small, you two can squeeze in together. If you're not used to it, you can also sleep in my bedroom, I'll make do with the living room for one night."

  "Uh..." The momentum that had just been built up suddenly dissipated after this sentence, and the girl who had misunderstood herself felt embarrassed and slumped her shoulders.

  An Junhe, who was stir-frying vegetables, turned his head and glanced at her, "What's wrong? Aren't you going to make the call?"

  "Oh, oh......" Taeyeon smiled nervously and was about to go out to make a call when her eyes scanned the screen of her flipped-over phone and she exclaimed in surprise: "Brother, you have an unreturned call."

  "Huh? Whose?"

  "Let me see... Hmm, Xiù Jīng...... Ah, is it Lin Xiù Jīng-senior from the TV drama with Ge?"

  At the moment he heard this name, An Junhe, who was putting dishes on a plate, paused slightly, "... Ah!"

  "Should I give her a call back?"

  Ahn Jun-hee, whose eyes were slightly scattered, took a while to come back to his senses. Under Tae-yeon's strange gaze, he smiled and said, "Forget it, I'll return it to her after dinner!"

  "Oh..."

  With doubts in her mind, the girl left. An Junhe was lost in thought, staring at the steaming hot air rising from the plate beside him. After a while, he let out a sigh.

  Alas... Lin Xiujing...

  ……

  An Junhe

  The bustling streets of Jiangnan District, the woman who still hasn't waited for the bell to ring, breathed out a mouthful of white air, stood under the streetlight, looked up at the sky and saw the endless snowflakes falling from the sky, thinking of that name in her heart, silently sighed.

  Passersby walking to and fro can see her standing in the snow, that desolation which has penetrated to the marrow of her bones. Yet no one dares to approach her, not because the cold weather has extinguished the warmth in people's hearts, but because she is too far away, a distance that is not just physical, but more like a spiritual world.

  She stands silently, as quiet as the snowflakes gently falling around her, like withered flower petals. Any words related to warmth and vitality seem to be far away from her. All light and color appear to collapse into darkness at the moment they touch her, leaving only coldness and a heart-wrenching silence that seems to separate her from this real world by layer upon layer of vacuum.

  New Year's Day has arrived, and the neighbors are all celebrating, very lively, but her room is very quiet. When she turned off the lights and darkness came, intense loneliness surrounded her, so she missed the days when she was on set, when she could follow him without any worries, wherever he went, she would also go, taking advantage of their identities as male and female leads, others wouldn't show any unusual expressions. He would invite her to eat and drink coffee, before she never thought that snacks and coffee could bring so much warmth. Before, she also didn't think that simply being by someone's side could make life very happy.

  But all of that was once again far away, she mustered up the courage to dial the phone, but didn't get a response, what came instead, perhaps was another lonely night...