Sharing the Dorm with the Enemy from Previous Life

Break Apart (3)

The business was even better yesterday. Sister Rui immediately settled all three days’ wages in advance, initially less than two thousand, and directly gave a full two thousand.

Apart from the phone money, the rest was enough to pay for mounting the picture frames.

As soon as he got on the bus, Qin Yuan’s WeChat finally arrived. “I was talking with my family just now and it wasn’t convenient to pick up. It’s done now.”

Ruan Qingmu leaned back comfortably on the seat, sleepy from the bright sun, and his heart was warm and serene. Then suddenly, he had a whim and clicked on the video call.

Qin Yuan suddenly froze over there and carefully pressed the reject button again.

“What happened?” Ruan Qingmu wondered out loud.

Ruan Qingmu was slightly unhappy. Why did Qin Yuan reject him repeatedly?

“I bought a new phone, ah. I want to try every function to see whether it works.” He rudely said, “I will look for other people if you don’t want to cooperate! I’ll even do a nude call with Fang Li.”

The screen lit up and a video call opened rapidly. Ruan Qingmu picked it up with satisfaction and grinned. As soon as he glanced at the screen, Ruan Qingmu couldn’t help but frown.

No wonder he couldn’t talk to him. He was obviously sick.

He looked at the haggard Qin Yuan in the camera and at his slightly prominent black eyebags and bloodshot eyes. “Did you catch a cold or something? Don’t take a shower often if you have a cold. Why is your hair all damp this early in the morning? Can you put aside your cleanliness for just one day? It won’t hurt you to have fewer showers in the winter!”

Qin Yuan listened quietly, occasionally glancing up before quickly lowering his eyes again, not wanting to make eye contact with him. “It’s nothing. I only have a slight headache.”

Ruan Qingmu did not say anything and only said quietly after a long time, “You should go rest quickly. Hang up the call.”

A person like Qin Yuan would never say how tired or uncomfortable he was. He must be very sick now that he said he had a headache.

That stepmother over there most likely didn’t care and nobody bothered to take care of him genuinely.

Qin Yuan’s eyelashes fluttered gently on the screen and he raised his eyes quickly to look at him. “When you finish your live stream at night and after I get a nice sleep, I’ll look for you.”

After thinking about it, he said softly, “My dad told me to return after the fifteenth of the first month of the lunar calendar. I decided to tell him later I’ll return after the third day.”

Ruan Qingmu let out an “mm.” “Then, will your family celebrate your lunar birthday?”

Last time at Qin Yuan’s house, he said he was born on Lunar New Year’s Eve, but people basically celebrate their solar birthdays. No one would remember the lunar birthdays that change every year.

Qin Yuan said, “No, they celebrate the solar ones.”

Ruan Qingmu’s mood suddenly leaped like a deer. “Then, I will make up for your lunar birthday celebration when you return.”

Qin Yuan’s voice was soft and the fatigue in his eyes gradually dissipated, returning to its clear and penetrating state. “Mm. I want to see my birthday present.”

Ruan Qingmu smiled, slightly smug. “I’m going to get it right now.”

The two silently stared at each other over the screen for a while before the bus announced its stop, and Ruan Qingmu jumped off the bus. When he saw Qin Yuan about to hang up the call, Ruan Qingmu suddenly called out in a whisper, “Hold on!”

The pedestrians around him were in a hurry, and no one paid attention, so he quietly made a small heart sign on the screen with one hand. “Little patient, remember to drink your medicine.”

Looking at the handsome face on the screen that quickly flushed red, he quickly tucked the phone into his pocket and lowered his head, pulling the hood of his hoodie down to shield his burning face…

The Lunar New Year’s Eve finally arrived.

The Lunar New Year’s Eve was seasoned with snow this year. Although the city landscape was covered in snow for the first time, it didn’t feel so sober and cold with all the lanterns and colorful banners.

Large Chinese red lanterns and Spring Festival couplets had been decorated early at the Qin family’s house. The courtyard had been decorated with large kumquat trees and various seasonal flowers, which were beautiful, making it look cheerful and neat in the silvery white yard.

The kitchen had been steaming since early in the morning as Wei Qinglian directed the maids and began to work on the annual Lunar New Year’s Eve dinner.

When Qin Yuan got up in the morning, he didn’t stay in his room to work on his homework. Instead, he accompanied Xiao-Siquan to play in the snow outside for a while and it was already almost noon when he returned to the living room.

Since they would have the New Year’s Eve dinner in the evening at this place, the noon meal was as simple as usual. He and Qin Zhufeng sat facing each other, and while father and son chatted as they ate, Qin Yuan was slightly distracted during the meal.

He scanned the small hall cupboard on the far side of the living room out of the corner of his eye and found it empty, with nothing in it like it had been like that for many years.

It was a local custom to keep a small table in the living room of the family home, leaving it untouched during the week and placing the memorial tablets of the family elders and relatives during the Lunar New Year, with some simple candles and fruit in front of them as a small token of respect.

When he lived in the old family home, this was how it was done every year. His mother died early in a disaster, so they should follow the local custom to pay tribute to her as a token of condolence and to pay respect her in the afterlife.

Even after moving here, it was set up for a few days during the Lunar New Year last year. There was no grand fanfare, just a small, simple tablet placed alongside the elders’ tablets.

At this time last year, he and his father had offered a few incense sticks before starting the meal, and he had set up the fruit plate with his own hands.

But it was empty now.