"Don't worry." He said reassuringly. "I've celebrated Christmas with my family before, but there was never magic in it either. If my father tried to do something when my sister and I were children, it all turned cold when we were alone with our mother." He stroked her back then pulled away slightly, to look straight into her eyes. "You know what?" He said. "I've got an idea!"
A few minutes later, they were sitting with drinks and snacks on the sofa, the television on and with a list of selected Christmas movies and TV films. "Come on, let's have a little Christmas spirit marathon, my Shancai!" "Daoming Si exclaimed cheerfully, and his wife burst out laughing, amused.
They watched the first movie, then a second and a third. As they started the fourth movie, Daoming Si suddenly paused. The couple looked at each other straight in the eyes. "Is it me, or I already guessed what is going to happen next?" The young man asked.
Shancai raised an eyebrow. "Hmm – let me guess. She's crazy about her job, doesn't like Christmas, and yearns of finding a new opportunity to reach her dream job. I suppose she'll have to go back to the small town of her childhood for some unknown reason, and she's going to meet her childhood love again there."
Daoming Si nodded. "At first, she'll can't bear to see him again." He continued. "But, being with her family and seeing this man again will help her to find the Christmas spirit again. She'll also remember her old dreams and will regret giving them up."
"Let's not forget that she experienced a trauma that took her away from her family and her former love." Shancai continued. "Either it was because of her ex or one of her parents died. In the end, she's going to give up everything, go back to her old dreams, and will end up with her childhood love."
"Of course," AhSi concluded, "The movie will end up with a kiss, preferably under the snow." They stared at each other silently before both of them burst into laughter. Daoming Si restarted the film.
"Ah!" Shancai exclaimed after a few seconds. "She had to enter a contest in that one."
Daoming Si nodded. "Oh! She had to go back to her parents' home to find her mother's recipe book!" He sneered a few minutes later.
"Alas, her mother was dead three years ago, and she lost Christmas spirit." Shancai sighed dramatically.
"And her cooking teacher is none other than her old high school boyfriend!" AhSi exclaimed, feigning surprise.
Then, at the end of the movie, husband and wife exclaimed in chorus, "And, of course, the famous kiss under the snow!!!"
Naturally, not all the movies were the same. There were also the countless adaptations of Dickens' "Christmas Carol," more or less modern, more or less faithful. Not to mention an encounter with princes, trips to Africa, red and white remakes of "Groundhog Day" and meetings with Santa family itself!
At the end of their marathon, Shancai and Daoming Si weren't sure they understood the Christmas spirit, but they knew at least everything about a Christmas TV movie script. By the way, when they discovered the screenplay sent by Qinghe, they didn't really have any great surprise and were even for another laugh.
***
The shooting of the TV movie "A Lovely Christmas'" ended in early November, so that it would be broadcast on television during December. More than once, the Daoming couple had to repress crazy laughter as they performed the stereotypes observed in the various movies they viewed, the return to their childhood village after years, the reunion with the former lover, and, of course, the kiss under the snow.
Shancai wasn't sure if they had recreated their much-awaited Christmas magic, but the directors seemed satisfied. As in Mulan's performance, the simple appearance of the Daoming couple was still very magical because of their spellbinding chemistry. Qinghe was overjoyed and, after the director promised him that they would work together again, the young man thanked his best friend and her husband with teary eyes.
The Christmas TV Movie: What makes it so easy to guess the ending?
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