Xu Youyou had a good night’s sleep and did not dream at all.

In contrast, Mo Shenbai was tortured by her and could not sleep the entire night.

…

When Xu Youyou woke up the next day, she found herself in a big bed, covered by a warm and soft blanket. She yawned and stretched. As she scratched her head, fragment memories from last night appeared in her mind, causing her eyes to widen.

‘Oh, no! I drank too much last night!’

She covered her face, feeling extremely regretful. Unlike the previous time, she remembered everything that happened the night before. She could clearly remember Mo Shenbai hugging and holding her, coaxing her to sleep.

“How embarrassing…” Xu Youyou lay on the bed again and rolled around in embarrassment.

After calming down, Xu Youyou washed up and changed her clothes before she went downstairs. She happened to bump into Cheng Ying who had just come out of the kitchen.

Cheng Ying touched Xu Youyou’s head and asked worriedly, “Do you feel unwell? I’ll ask Aunt Pei to make you a glass of hangover tea. You’ll feel better after drinking it.”

“No need, Mom,” Xu Youyou said. She looked around the living room before she asked, “Mom, where’s Mo Shenbai?”

“I heard from Aunt Pei that he left very early in the morning. He looked like he was in a rush so maybe there was something urgent he needed to attend to,” Cheng Ying replied.

“Oh.” Xu Youyou heaved a sigh of relief inwardly. Then, in the next moment, a wave of disappointment swept into her heart. She wondered what was so urgent that he had left without even wishing her a Happy New Year.

Cheng Ying grabbed Xu Youyou’s hand and pulled Xu Youyou to the couch. As they walked, she advised earnestly, “In the future, don’t drink so much. Don’t learn from your brother. He’s a grown man. No matter how much he drinks, he’ll be fine. You, a girl, will be at a disadvantage if you drink too much. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Xu Youyou hurriedly nodded and said obediently, “Mom, I won’t drink anymore. I won’t drink at all.”

‘Every time I drank, I’d embarrass myself. I can’t afford to embarrass myself for the third time…’

“Alright,” Cheng Ying said. She was not a particularly strict parent who would harp on her child’s mistakes.

“Mom, I want to go to the bathroom,” Xu Youyou said, finding an excuse to leave.

“Go. I’m going to check on your grandmother,” Cheng Ying said before going upstairs.

Xu Youyou entered the bathroom downstairs. She did not use the bathroom. Instead, she brought her phone out and sent a message to Mo Shenbai.

Youyou: Are you home yet?

After waiting for five minutes, Xu Youyou still did not receive a reply. She stared at her phone thoughtfully as she muttered to herself, “Are you asleep? Or are you busy? Should I just call?”

After struggling for a moment, she called Mo Shenbai. Chills permeated her body and heart when she heard the mechanical voice informing her that the phone had been turned off.

‘Why is his phone off? Did it run out of battery? Is he angry because I got drunk last night?’

Xu Youyou stayed in the bathroom for half an hour, worrying over this matter. If it were not for Aunt Pei knocking on the door, she would have forgotten to leave the bathroom.

At this moment, Xu Jialu walked in from outside. He yawned, looking sleepy.

Cheng Ying smacked Xu Jialu’s head lightly and said with a hint of reproach, “It’s one thing for you to stay out all night, but you even let your sister get drunk. Are you trying to anger me to death?”

Xu Jialu was stunned by the smack. When he regained his senses, he said, “No, it’s not like I asked her to drink. She ordered…”

Before Xu Jialu could finish speaking, Cheng Ying hit him again. “How dare you talk back to me! It’s one thing for you to fool around every day, but you even brought Youyou with you. Can’t you act more like an elder brother?”

Xu Jialu looked at Xu Youyou for help. At this time, she was the only one who could persuade their mother to stop.

Xu Youyou sat on the couch, looking unhappy. She did not stop her mother from beating Xu Jialu.

In the end, it was Old Madam Xu who came downstairs and stopped Cheng Ying.

During breakfast, Xu Jialu, who was seated next to Xu Youyou, lowered his head and said through gritted teeth, “Good job, Xu Youyou. You left me to die!”

Xu Youyou pursed her lips before she said, “Mo Shenbai did not reply to my message, and I couldn’t get through to him…”

Xu Jialu raised an eyebrow. He had dated a few times before so he knew how frustrating it could be for women in love when they could not contact their boyfriends. His anger abated, and he explained, “He has quite a few relatives in his family, and he’s the head of the family. He left a house full of people to look for you on new year’s eve. Do you think he doesn’t have to give an explanation when he returns?”

“Oh, so that’s why,” Xu Youyou said as realization dawned on her.

Xu Jialu patted her head. “Yes. Don’t think too much. Eat.”

Xu Youyou nodded.

Cheng Ying, who happened to see this scene, asked unhappily, “Xu Jialu, why did you hit your sister’s head?”

“Huh?” Question marks could be seen above Xu Jialu’s head. How could this be called hitting? He asked, “I’m not your biological child, right?”

Cheng Ying feigned a surprised expression and said, “Oh, you finally realized it!”

Xu Jialu: “…”

‘There’s no way for me to stay in this family anymore…’

Old Madam Xu could not help but laugh when she saw the mother and son bickering.

Xu Youyou also laughed.

The entire family was very happy.

…

After breakfast, many people came to visit the Xu family house.

Xu Youyou did not want to deal with her relatives so she hid away and drew in her room.

After drawing for a while, she pulled her phone out. There was still no call or message from Mo Shenbai. She was afraid of disturbing him so she did not call again.

Xu Youyou was absent-minded the entire day. Even at night, Mo Shenbai still did not return her call and message. She could no longer endure the torment so she ended up messaging Mo Zhiyun.

Youyou: Zhiyun, are you with Mo Shenbai?”

After sending the message, she saw the ‘typing’ status above the chat. Only after five minutes did Mo Zhiyun reply.

Zhiyun: Brother went to pay respect to his mother. You don’t have to worry. He’ll contact you when he’s done.

‘Paying his respect to his mother?’

Xu Youyou stared at the message for quite a while. No matter how long she looked at it, she could not shake off the strange feeling in her heart. Just as she was about to send another message, a call came in. It was Mo Shenbai.

She quickly answered the call. She could barely contain her joy as she said, “Hey! Are you done?”

There was no sound from the other end of the line.

She called out again, confused, “Mo Shenbai…”

“I’m here,” Mo Shen said in a slightly hoarse voice, “You answered the call so quickly. Were you waiting for my call?”

Xu Youyou did not deny it. “You left the morning without waking me up. Then, you didn’t reply to my message, and your phone was turned off. How could I not be waiting for you to call?”

Xu Youyou was surprised. “Huh? What pillow?”

“Turn the pillow over and have a look.”

Xu Youyou did as she was told and found a red packet under her pillow. It felt rather thick in her hand. She said, “I didn’t know you put it there.”

“Happy New Year, little friend,” Mo Shenbai said.

Xu Youyou’s ears tingled when she heard his voice. She smiled and said, “There’s no need for you to give me a red packet. Grandma and the others have already given me red packets for luck!”

Every year, Xu Youyou would receive quite a few red packets, and each was thicker than the last.

Mo Shenbai said in a deep and hoarse voice, “It’s different. How can what they give you be the same as what I give you? Moreover, how can I not give it to my person? What everyone else has, you have to have it as well…”