Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The old lady's face was full of affection as she patted his hand repeatedly. "You've finally come home for the New Year, and Grandma is making you stuffed pancakes."
Her specialty was the stuffed pancakes from her hometown, Haicheng. Whenever Shen Du visited as a child, he could always enjoy them. Ever since Grandpa passed away, she hadn’t made them in a long time.
Shen Du took off his coat and followed her into the kitchen to knead the dough. "I haven't tasted your cooking in ages. I promise I'll finish everything tonight."
The aroma of food filled the kitchen, and even before dinner started, the sounds of firecrackers could be heard from the street. Little Rui Rui was frightened and cried loudly; several people took turns trying to comfort him but to no avail.
Shen Du walked to the balcony and closed the window. Outside, smoke swirled in the air, and amidst the brilliant fireworks, countless lights twinkled from homes.
He pulled out his phone, which had been vibrating incessantly. It was filled with New Year greetings, including a red envelope of one yuan sent by Ji Zheyuan.
He smiled and scrolled down until he stopped at a cartoon avatar.
Her profile picture was an illustration from "Whisper of the Heart," featuring Tsukishima Shizuku with a big fat cat on a train. The cat lay sideways, its body resembling a puddle of melted cream, its tail casually draped, half-closed eyes radiating an air of aloofness.
After hesitating for a moment, Shen Du typed and deleted several messages before finally sending just four words: "Happy New Year."
However, it seemed like this message had sunk into oblivion; even after dinner was over, there was no response from Yao Nian.
From the living room where they were watching the Spring Festival Gala, Shen Qi called out, "Son, phone!"
Shen Du was washing dishes with Xu Zhengnan in the kitchen. He quickly dried his hands and stepped out to see it was Ji Zheyuan calling. He felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment.
"Lawyer Shen, how are you spending New Year's Eve?"
Shen Du walked to the balcony. "What else? Watching the Spring Festival Gala and then setting off fireworks when it's time. Just going through the motions."
"Ah? You sound a bit down," Ji Zheyuan teased. "Been pressured to get married again?"
Shen Du chuckled. "It's New Year’s; with Grandma around, anyone who brings it up will be in trouble."
"By the way," Ji Zheyuan asked again, "aren't you celebrating at Xiaolin's family home? How come you have time to call me?"
"Don't even mention it," Ji Zheyuan lamented. "My prospective father-in-law drinks too much; I almost ended up throwing up myself! I had to sneak out while they were playing mahjong to catch my breath."
"Well, you're the new son-in-law now," Shen Du joked. "The old son-in-law has already taken charge."
"Stop teasing me," Ji Zheyuan said. "I almost forgot what I wanted to ask you! How's Yao Nian doing? She hasn't been affected by anything, right?"
Shen Du paused for a moment. "What do you mean by 'affected'?"
There was silence on the other end for a few seconds before Ji Zheyuan's voice suddenly rose: "You mean you don't know about such a big deal?"
He furrowed his brow, wondering what was going on.
"Isn't her dad your friend? What's his name again? Yao something?"
"Yao Zhandong."
"Yes, yes, that's right! He got arrested!"
Shen Du felt a tightening in his throat. "When did this happen?"
"Damn, I thought you already knew! It's been almost half a month. Oulu called me this morning, asking if I could take on the case. As soon as I saw the name, it sounded familiar, and when I asked, it turned out to be Yao Nian's dad."
"Hello? Hello? Are you listening?"
Shen Du was jolted awake by his shout. "Yeah, I’m here," he replied before the call abruptly ended.
Ji Zheyuan hadn't finished speaking when the line went dead.
Comment 0 Comment Count