Cinderella Innocent and Boss Charming - Chapter 171

Chapter 171 Can We Still Set off Fireworks This Night?
In the afternoon, the weather came a sudden snap. The clear sky with shining sun suddenly turned to heavy winds and rain. Du Huayue shook the water off the umbrella and muttered, “This damn weather!”

Du Xiaoxian stood by the door. She smiled, “Brother Ah Yue, today is New Year’s Eve. Don’t say that word. If aunt hears it, she will definitely scold you.”

Du Huayue also smiled, “That’s true. My mom is old-fashioned. She won’t allow unlucky words during the Spring Festival.”

Du Xiaoxian asked, “Did she receive the money and clothes I asked you to send?”

Du Huayue paused for a moment. Then he said, “She liked the clothes. She asked me to thank you for that. As for the money, she wanted me to give it back. She thought that you should not send your money to her since you live outside and need money at every turn. She said that you should keep it yourself and don’t worry about her.”

Du Xiaoxian was a little disappointed, “So she didn’t accept the money.”

“My mom also warned,” Du Huayue hesitated for a while, “that you should look after yourself on everything being alone outside. You should earn money properly and don’t be jealous of others getting rich in one night. There are a lot of villains outside, you should always be cautious. She also said that the most important thing for a girl is to lead a clean life! And you should take care of your health!”

Du Xiaoxian frowned slightly, “Is aunt afraid that I…”

“My mom surely believes that you’re a good girl. She just felt that the sum of money you gave her was too much.” Du Huayue said, “It’s such a large sum that she has never seen in her entire life. She must be scared. I told you that it was inappropriate to send that much money back then. But you insisted on me doing it. Now you know the consequence, right?”

Du Xiaoxian also knew that it was inappropriate. How could she earn such a huge amount of money and send it back in such a short period of working? It was Gu Nianbin who insisted on that. He said that he was grateful to her aunt for taking care of her all these years. It certainly should be like this. Du Xiaoxian was persuaded by what he said and agreed. She didn’t expect that it would be self-defeating.

Seeing Du Xiaoxian getting silent for quite a while, Du Huayue comforted her, “Don’t worry. My mom didn’t know that you have a rich boyfriend. She is just worried about you. I have told her that I am watching over you and will not let anything bad happen to you.”

Du Xiaoxian nodded. She felt a little regretful in her heart. It was her long-cherished wish to earn money and give it as a present to her aunt. She never thought that it ended up like this. However, the clothes were accepted after all, which could be considered to be the fulfillment of her wish.

They talked for another while. Then, Ah Ling came over and said that the dinner was ready. During the lunch, Du Xiaoxian was talking to her Young Master the whole time so that she barely ate much. The day was New Year’s Eve, she just felt that this meal was different from the usual ones, and there seemed to be something new about the dishes. Gu Nianbin did not feed her as usual. He wanted to leave, but was reluctant to do so. And he couldn’t help but kiss her in a lovey-dovey way frequently at lunch.

They didn’t eat too much during the meal. Nor did they dare to drink much. However, they seemed to be slightly drunk. As they stared at each other, they became intoxicated by the affection in each other’s eyes. The two of them quietly leaned close to each other on the sofa for quite a while before Gu Nianbin stood up and left.

So, feeling a little hungry at this moment, Du Xiaoxian could hardly wait to pick up the chopsticks for eating. Du Huayue was always delighted having meat in meals. He picked up a piece of braised pork and stuffed it into his mouth. Ah Ling also got herself relaxed. She was quite ease at talking and laughing with them.

The rain outside had stopped long ago. But what followed was heavy snow. As the Spring Festival came, all lights in the courtyard were on. As the lights shone, snowflakes dropped continuously like countless moths flying towards fire.

“Such auspicious snow.” Du Xiaoxian said happily, “It seems that the New Year will be a good year!”

Du Huayue clinked his glass with that of Ah Ling. He said, “What does it have to do with you? Do you still want to return to your hometown?”

Du Xiaoxian’s smile faltered. She lowered her eyes and said, “I will not go back.”

“That’s right,” Du Huayue said, “I will not either. This city is good. I will come up with some results and bring my mom here for an easy and comfortable life!”

Ah Ling remembered that Du Xiaoxian had a father. So she said, “Xiaoxian, when the time comes, you should bring your father here too. Young Master will definitely treat him well.”

Du Xiaoxian did not say anything. But Du Huayue muttered sullenly, “Why would she do that?”

Ah Ling was puzzled. However, seeing their expressions, she thought that it was better not to ask again.

However, Du Huayue vented his frustration under the influence of alcohol and spat everything out, “Her father has never been a good person. Every time he got drunk outside and went back home, he beat Xiaoxian. Although he did it less when she got older, he always asked for money from her when he came back. He took all the money Xiaoxian had taken great pains to earn, leaving nothing to support her living. How could she live without food and clothing? Later on, his misdeeds went worse. He wanted to sell Xiaoxian to an old man from a neighboring village. Xiaoxian had no choice but to escape from her home.”

“Brother Ah Yue, don’t talk about that. It’s all in the past.” Du Xiaoxian laughed. “I’m having a happy life now, right?”

“Now?” Du Huayue looked around the room and said indifferently, “I hope so.” In his heart, he still felt that Du Xiaoxian and Gu Nianbin were not right for each other. Such a magnificent room was simply not a place for people like him and Du Xiaoxian to stay.

Ah Ling sensed that there was something wrong with the atmosphere, so she changed the subject quickly, “Can we still set off fireworks this night with such heavy snow? Xiaoxian has been expecting for this for a long time.”

“It will be more fun to set off fireworks in the snow.” Du Huayue said, “Bury the firecracker in the snow and light it, then the explosion would fly the snow in all directions. That will be exciting!”

Ah Ling laughed, “Then you will be disappointed. Young Master didn’t buy any explosive and hazardous fireworks. Look over there.” She pointed to a pile of colorful fireworks by the door of the hall and said, “All of those were the kind that can produce beautiful sparks. Young Master selected them in person. It will surely be very beautiful.”

“That would be lame.” Du Huayue had just been discharged from military service and was only in his early twenties. He was still a little childish. Looking at the pile of fireworks, he shook his head.

“Young Master doesn’t want Xiaoxian to be scared.” Ah Ling knew that he had always been prejudiced against Gu Nianbin, so she said, “Young Master won’t let Xiaoxian touch anything that is in the slightest bit of danger.”

Du Huayue also understood what Ah Ling meant. “I know that your Young Master likes her and treats her well, but…”

“There’s no ‘but’. I’ll prepare some fruit for you.” Ah Ling interrupted him with a smile before she left.

Du Xiaoxian glanced at Du Huayue. She said, “Brother Ah Yue, I know that you and aunt are worried about me, but Young Master is really a good person. He treats me well. He said he would marry me as soon as I reached the marriageable age. You can rest assured.”

“There are still two years away from that.” Du Huayue threw cold water on her optimism, “Talk about it when he really marries you.”

Du Xiaoxian did not want to discuss this with him during the Spring Festival, so she suggested to go to set off fireworks. Du Huayue said, “Don’t we need to wait for your sweetheart brother Gu to come back before setting off fireworks?” He paused for a while and then said, “What kind of brother is he? I think you can call him uncle since he is old enough for you!”

“Brother Ah Yue!” Du Xiaoxian finally raised her voice under his teasing.

Du Huayue roared with laughter. Du Xiaoxian now was really different from before. In the past, she would always stand timidly in front of him with her head lowered and utter nothing, no matter how he made fun of her. When she could not bear the teasing, she would turn to his mom. Then his mom would rush over and hit him while scolding, “You are asking for trouble. She is just a dumb girl. Why are you always teasing her?”

What he did was just teasing, never bullying. When he saw her getting bullied by other children, he would be the one who came out to drive them away. Now, she talked and smiled a lot. She didn’t always lower her head and even dared to raise her voice to shout at him. The cowardly and thin little girl who was always hiding behind him had finally grown up. Perhaps, the credit for this change went partly to Mr. Gu. But Du Huayue felt somewhat uneasy at this Young Master because he had no idea how long his favor of Du Xiaoxian could last. But this silly girl believed in him.

“Let’s go. I’ll set off the fireworks for you.” Du Huayue walked to the wall and picked up some fireworks before letting her hold them. They were walking outside when Ah Ling shouted from behind, “Are you going to set off the fireworks now? Have some fruit first!”

Du Xiaoxian held the fireworks in her arms and was a little too impatient to wait. This was her first time setting off fireworks on the New Year’s Eve. She wished that everyone could come and watch. She shook her head at Ah Ling and said, “I’ll have the fruit later. Now, I’m full!”

“Wait, it’s cold outside. Let me go upstairs and get you a coat. Otherwise, Young Master will definitely scold me when he comes back and sees you wearing so little to go outside.”

“He won’t. I told him not to scold anyone during the Spring Festival! And I’m not cold.” Du Xiaoxian smiled and said, “Sister Ah Ling, come with us and see the fireworks!”

Ah Ling had no choice. She put down the fruit tray and ran upstairs to get her coat. Gu Nianbin would not care it was the Spring Festival or what and would definitely scold her fiercely if Du Xiaoxian really caught a cold.

When Ah Ling came downstairs with the coat, she saw Du Xiaoxian squatting on the ground and lighting the fireworks. Du Huayue stood aside and watched her. Ah Ling hurriedly walked over and said, “Ah, let your Brother Ah Yue do it. What if your hands get hurt?”

Du Huayue smiled and said, “Didn’t you say that these fireworks are not hazardous? How would it hurt her hands? She has never set off fireworks before, just let her do it.”

After the fuse was lit, Du Xiaoxian took a leap and ran away quickly. Colorful flames and sparks were not erupted out from the firework holder until she stood still. Those flames shone like a rain of gold and silver, producing purple, red, blue, and green lights that illuminated the surroundings. It was so beautiful!

This was the first time Du Xiaoxian had watched fireworks at close range. She was so happy that she jumped up like a child. She wished that Gu Nianbin could stay by her side now, because she wanted to share such a happy time with him.

Because of the rain and snow, Gu Nianbin arrived at the ancestral mansion close to the evening. From afar, he saw a long string of red lanterns hanging in front of the door. As the lights shone on the old-fashioned eaves, it created a strong atmosphere of Spring Festival. It must be lively here as many people gathered inside.

He drove in, but no one came out to welcome him. Gu Nianbin thought that perhaps they did not hear the sound of his car, so they did not know that he was here. He parked his car under the tree and strode through the door, but there was no one in the hall.

This was strange. Where did they go during the Spring Festival? Just as he was about to shout, a tall and slender girl opened the bead door curtain and walked out of the east door. She looked at him with a light smile, “Brother Nianbin, you’re back!”

Gu Nianbin froze there immediately. He could not move. Something surged like waves in his heart, bringing him to the past in an instant. How come it was her? Was it really her? He waited and longed bitterly after she left. In the end, he had no choice but to finally remove her from his heart with great pains. But now, she appeared, in such a sudden manner!

“What? You don’t recognize me?” Xia Xiaowan slowly walked towards him.