❝ ──chapter seven,
lunar new year. ❞
𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐉𝐈𝐀𝐗𝐔 came to tutor sang zhi on the same day. sang yue always looked forward to that day. she prepared for her gaokao exams simultaneously. being cooped up studying for hours and hours became a normal thing for her. she'd only come out when needed for food or whenever jiaxu came. however only for a breif moment before locking herself in her room again. to say sang yan was worried for his sister was an understatement. he was beyond worried. always encouraging her to take breaks for atleast an hour or encouraging her to eat more.
it did not went unnoticed by sang yue. she did tried to take less but longer breaks. soon it was chinese new year. sang yue decided that she won't study that day. afterall even her body needed break. she went down to see her mother preparing for the day as sang yan mopped. "māmā" she said handing out the earring to her mother. sang yue tried to wear it herself but was unsuccessful hence she turned to her mother for help.
every tried to invite jiaxu to stay. but when he declined politely no one forced the guy. "how many have i told you to keep wearing earrings?" li ping nagged at her daughter. "see the piercings are almost extinguished!" li ping said when done. sang yue just shrugged before going to annoy her brother.
"stop mopping already. wash the rag and wipe the table" li ping ordered her son. "yueyue help me clear the table" she then turned to sang yue who nodded and accepted the work. she immediately went to clean the table before hitting her brother on his arm for fun. she received a text and smiled while texting on her phone. "what now you too got an online boyfriend?" jiaxu asked teasingly to sang yue.
"no. it's liu mei, my friend" she said briefly turning the phone to him before texting again. "if you do your phone's gonna be confiscated" he said teasing her further. "i don't have an online boyfriend. come on if sang yan gē hears us he'll cause hell on luan new years eve" she joked.
unbeknownst to the two the youngest sang was hearing their conversation behind wall, her heart burning with jealousy. sang yue was pretty tall. she stood at 5'6 feet. she sneaked up behind jiaxu, tip toeing to mess up his hairs before running back to her back.
"𝐙𝐇𝐈𝐙𝐇𝐈 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇" sang yue muttered. the family gathered to celebrate the new year at the eveing. "happy new year" sang rong announced as everyone toasted their glasses, sang zhi with her bottle of juice. "happy new year!" everyone chorused. "the most exciting part is yet to come" sang rong said as he brought out the red packets. he passed one to li ping who said surprised, "do i get one too? perfect. "
the sang siblings shared a look. mouthing to each other three, two one before standing up simultaneously. "happy new year! bābā, māmā. may your wishes come true! stay healthy─" they stopped when sang yan messed up. "be happy comes first" sang yue said. "no it's stay healthy" he argued. "it's be happy!" sang zhi exclaimed. "fine" he gave in. they continued.
"─be happy every day! stay healthy!" the siblings finished their little song. sang rong handed each of them their red packets. sang zhi's red packet seemed more stuffed then theirs. "bābā you're being so unfair" sang yue whined. "do well on gaokao and you'll get a better one" said her father. sang yue leaned in to see what her sister got. she got her mobile back. "nevermind i like money more" she said collecting chuckles from the table.
"zhizhi what should you do after getting your phone?" he asked.
"I'll uninstall all the games" li ping nodded satisfied by the answer. "what else? what about your online dating prospect?" sang rong asked. the youngest sang looked shocked that the matter reached her parents. "i already deleted it long ago" she answered.
"what about his phone number?" li ping asked.
"i don't have his phone number. online dating does not require phone numbers. i telling the truth. you can check it yourself" she answered passing the phone to her mother who gave it back after checking thoroughly.
sang rong said the kids to behave which prompted the older siblings to taunt the youngest before digging in.
"by yueyue didn't you wanted to buy a new series of book? ask you brother to buy it now that he has money" li ping said.
"why should i?" sang yan asked jokingly but his sister just hugged his arm thanking him. he passed the red pocket to her and sang zhi. "sang yan is the most generous" sang rong joked.
the sang family discussed about holidays while sang yue sneakily texted back jiaxu after receiving his message.
𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐘𝐔𝐄 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 happily. the school gave months off of preparation for the gaokao exams. it was the last day. "hii" she greeted her brother in a cheerful tone. she was stopped by him. "wait wait duan jiaxu sent you this as your last day of school present" sang yan handing the box to her. "stupid guy why is he wasting money like that" he muttered before closing the gate.
she took a look at the papers and saw how his name was actually spelt. she made made a mental note to change the name in her phone. she went upstairs, her mood now even better.
she opened the box to reveal a pair of mary janes. she immediately whipped out her phone to call jiaxu.
"hello" he said on the receiving line.
"hello gēgē. i received the package you sent. what's with the sudden gift?" she asked.
"it's because you're done with school. do you not like it?" he asked.
"i do. i really do but i don't want you to waste your money on me" she said.
"who said i am wasting my money on you? i am splurging on my sister" he joked. sang yue's heart sank. it was a constant reminder that he saw her just as his sister and he will always see her as his sister.
"well your sister is telling you to stop splurging on her"
"but what if i want to?"
"then just... don't?" she chuckled.
"pass the gaokao exam I'll send you a better gift"
"you don't have to"
"but i want to"
"then give me your address. I'll send you a gift too"
"no"
"why? it's important. if you are allowed to give me gifts and i am not allowed to then it'll be unfair"
"keep your monthly allowance and spend it on yourself. no need to send me gifts"
"see you're being unfair right now"
"you really don't have to. the fact that you want to already makes me happy"
"then next time the same rule should apply to you"
"by the way are you going to the graduation ceremony with sang yan?" he asked swiftly changing the topic.
"yes"
"that's great then we'll see each other then"
"right then i can give my brother gifts" she joked.
"okay then. i have to go now"
•˚. *࿐ 𝑲𝑶𝑲𝑶𝑺𝑩𝑳𝑨𝑺𝑯𝑴𝑬𝒀'𝑺 𝑵𝑶𝑻𝑬 ▬▬▬ again sang yue is still unaware that jiaxu is from yihe