He Xiu suddenly said such a sentimental thing that Jian Yan didn't know what to say. Fortunately, He Xiu's phone rang in time, resolving her embarrassment.

  The call was from Tang Zheng. Almost every year, the first call He Xiu received was from Tang Zheng.

  "Mr. He, happy New Year!" Tang Zheng's voice on the other end was very noisy. It seemed that he was celebrating somewhere. "I wish you can get out of the single state soon in the new year, and also hope that you can block me fewer times!"

  He Xiu smiled and said, "Well, I hope you can do fewer stupid things in the new year so that I can block you fewer times."

  Tang Zheng: "..."

  He said irritably, "Are you alone in the company again?"

  He Xiu glanced at Jian Yan by the window and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly: "I'm in the company, but I'm not alone."

  "Oh, I feel sorry for your colleague who is working overtime with you."

  He Xiu just smiled and didn't explain more to him: "If you have nothing else, I'm going to continue working overtime."

  "Work overtime then. I wish you and your work will finally get together!" Tang Zheng said and hung up the phone. He Xiu walked to the window and said to Jian Yan, "You have to work the early shift tomorrow. Go back and rest first."

  Jian Yan thought for a moment and said, "Well, then I'll leave first."

  He Xiu watched her pick up her bag and walk to the door, then called out to her again: "Let me send you downstairs."

  Jian Yan looked at him without saying a word. He Xiu smiled and took the initiative to explain: "I'm afraid you'll be afraid of the dark when you walk down the stairs alone."

  Jian Yan: "..."

  Well, although she was indeed a bit afraid.

  He Xiu accompanied her all the way to the underground parking lot. At this moment, Jian Yan was really glad that He Xiu had come with her. Otherwise, she might not have dared to come and get her car. After opening the car door, before getting in, Jian Yan suddenly turned back to He Xiu and said, "In previous New Year's Eves, I was always at home working on my manuscript alone. This year, I'm just as happy."

  He Xiu watched her drive away and then walked back with a beaming smile.

  He had previously told Jian Yan to send him a message when she got home. Jian Yan obediently followed Mr. He's instructions and reported her safety to him the first time.

  Tangzhi: I've arrived home safely [Yeah]

  Nansi: That's good ^_^

  Nansi: Remember to wait for me after work tomorrow.

  Nansi: Oh no, it should be today :)

  Tangzhi: [OK] I wish you a happy overtime. I'm going to wash up and go to bed.

  He Xiu smiled and sent a voice message in reply.

  Jian Yan was curious and clicked on it. A sexy and gentle male voice sounded in the night, which could almost make people drunk to death: "Good night. Have a nice dream."

  ... Jian Yan thought she might not be able to fall asleep tonight.

  Although she was a bit emotionally agitated at night, she still had to go to work as usual. When Jian Yan arrived at Xingguang Department Store early in the morning, the people who had been queuing all night outside were all ready to go, staring intently at the entrance of the mall.

  ... She really felt sorry for those who had been freezing on the square all night.

  She entered through the staff passageway, and her colleagues inside were also on high alert. Jian Yan had never grabbed a lucky bag before. She had only seen some photos of people grabbing lucky bags on Weibo, and it was really crazy. She was fortunate to be able to witness it on the spot today, and she must take a good look.

  Although Dream Wardrobe didn't sell lucky bags, once the mall doors opened and everyone rushed in, the order would be very chaotic. In order to avoid any accidents, they all had to be extremely vigilant. He Xiu also came down from upstairs in person, ready to help organize the on-site order.

  After the morning meetings of each department were over, everyone stood at their respective posts, waiting for the mall to open.

  At exactly 9 o'clock, the security guards opened the doors on time. The already restless crowd outside became even noisier. The people at the front of the line almost rushed in like rockets the moment the doors opened.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  In less than a minute, a large number of customers had poured into the mall. There was already a long queue in front of the elevator, and some clever people had rushed towards the stairs from the very beginning. At the moment when they rushed in, Jian Yan had a feeling that thousands of troops were charging towards her. It could be described as imposing.

  "Terrible." She couldn't help but exclaim, "This is even more intense than the aunts in the supermarket grabbing discounted goods."

  "Hahaha." Her colleague laughed beside her, "When they get old, they will become the aunts who grab discounted goods in the supermarket. So don't blame yourself for not being able to outgrab the aunts. They've been honing their skills since they were young!"

  Jian Yan: "..."

  That made a lot of sense.

  During lunch, she kept discussing the lucky bag battle in the morning with He Xiu. Before leaving, He Xiu reminded her again not to forget to wait for him after work. Jian Yan raised her eyebrows slightly, feeling very curious: "Where exactly are you going to take me?"

  If it weren't for the fact that He Xiu's mother had passed away and the He family's situation was what it was, she would almost have suspected that he was going to take her to meet his parents, which was why she was so nervous.

  He Xiu still refused to say: "You'll know when you get there. Don't worry, I won't sell you."

  Jian Yan didn't get an answer, but she still obediently waited at the entrance after work.

  He Xiu drove the car out of the parking garage and stopped in front of Jian Yan. Jian Yan recognized his car. After she got in, she couldn't help asking again: "Where are we going exactly?"

  This time, He Xiu didn't play coy anymore. Instead, he smiled at her and said, "It's my aunt's birthday today. I'm taking you there to celebrate her birthday."

  "Your aunt's birthday?" Jian Yan blinked her eyes in confusion but didn't ask further. "Then you should have told me earlier. I didn't prepare a birthday gift."

  "It doesn't matter. I've already prepared everything. You just need to go and have a meal. My aunt's cooking skills are only a little bit worse than mine."

  Jian Yan couldn't help laughing: "You're so cocky. Does your aunt know that?"

  He Xiu said: "My aunt was my cooking 启蒙老师. Now I've surpassed her. She should be proud."

  "Oh, then you should be the one cooking this meal."

  He Xiu looked at her and hooked his lips at her: "I'll cook for you next time."

  Jian Yan turned her head to look out the window and didn't say anything. After a while, He Xiu asked, "Aren't you curious about which aunt I'm talking about?"

  Jian Yan thought for a moment and said truthfully: "I'm a bit curious, but I don't dare to speak carelessly now."

  He Xiu lowered his eyes slightly and chuckled: "It was my fault last time. Don't take it to heart."

  Jian Yan puffed out her cheeks and didn't reply. He Xiu continued: "The aunt I mentioned has no blood relationship with me. She's a good friend of my mother's."

  Jian Yan was taken aback. The mother he mentioned must not be Zhao Yingfang, but his biological mother.

  "She and my mother were high school classmates and had a very good relationship. Later, when my mother was raising me alone, she was often taken care of by this aunt. My mother went against her family's opposition and insisted on giving birth to me. After that, she grew distant from her family. Maybe because she didn't receive good care when she gave birth to me, she left behind some lingering health problems, and her body was never in good condition. But in order to raise me, she worked from dawn till dusk every day, which was very hard. I felt sorry for her, but I was too young to help her much. I could only share more of the housework with her."

  Jian Yan knew that this experience was far from as plain as he described. It was not easy for a single mother to raise a child even in modern times, let alone back then, and she could only imagine how much gossip and criticism they must have endured from those around them.

  However, Jian Yan just said: "So that's how you developed your cooking skills?"

  When it came to this, the corners of He Xiu's mouth finally curled up into a smile: "Actually, it's mainly because the food my mother cooked was really terrible. Seriously, I had no choice but to fend for myself."

  Jian Yan also smiled and said: "Is it worse than the noodles cooked by President Lin?"

  "Actually, I'm also curious about how bad Lin Zhen's noodles taste." He Xiu chuckled. "Anyway, since I could hold a spatula, I never let my mother enter the kitchen again. Every time I complained that her cooking was bad, she would very confidently say that the more beautiful a woman is, the worse her cooking is, and told me never to marry a beautiful woman in the future."

  "Haha, your mother is so cute."

  He Xiu said: "Because my mother was really beautiful, so for a long time, I thought what she said was true." He said this and then glanced at Jian Yan sideways. "But after getting to know you, I can confirm that she was talking nonsense."

  ... Seducing people without being obvious is the most lethal.

  Jian Yan thought that He Xiu was an expert in all aspects.

  Maybe it was mainly because he was good-looking and had a nice voice.

  "My mother was just like you. She loved dressing up very much, but..." He Xiu's voice gradually lowered again. "In order to support me, she had to give up beautiful clothes and do some very hard work. I heard from my aunt that she used to love shopping in department stores the most. Even if she didn't buy anything, she would try on all the beautiful clothes. But in my memory, she never went to a department store even once. Even when buying clothes, she would always buy them for me. Only once, she took me to Xingguang Department Store, but she just stood at the entrance and didn't go in in the end."

  Jian Yan's eyes became a bit red. After a while, when her emotions calmed down a bit, she said to He Xiu: "Your mother was a great mother."

  "Yes, when I was a child, my biggest wish was to buy her a lot of beautiful clothes when I grew up. But she didn't live long enough to see me grow up."

  Jian Yan's emotions, which had just calmed down, were stirred up again by his words. She turned her head and sniffed, afraid that her tears would fall. Perhaps because He Xiu's life experience had some similarities with hers, she always felt a deep connection.

  "Sometimes I think that if my mother had listened to her parents and had an abortion, she wouldn't have had such a hard life. She would still be alive and well now, and she might have other children, and she would be very happy."

  Jian Yan blinked her red eyes quickly and finally turned to look at him and said: "From a woman's perspective, I support the idea of your mother having an abortion. But I'm really grateful to her for bringing you into this world."