Chapter 111

"..."

Jocelyn York walked along the side of the street.

Looking up, she could see the gradually increasing colorful lights on the roadside trees.

After Christmas comes New Year.

Every corner of this city is gradually adorned with beautiful colors.

"Sigh..."

She sighed lightly.

Let's go home...

"Luojia!"

A voice came from behind.

She turned around.

"Wei, William Wei... Samson Nan?"

She looked at the two panting people with surprise on her face.

"What are you doing here...?"

"We saw you rushing out of the restaurant in anger, and we were worried about you..."

"Hey."

Before William Wei finished speaking, he was patted on the back by Samson Nan.

"Uh, well, you can't really say we followed you... we just happened to be eating there! Right?"

He smiled and looked at Samson Nan.

"Wait, you guys have been following me?"

"No, how can we say 'follow'? We were just coincidentally eating there! Right?"

He laughed and looked at Samson Nan.

"Um, sorry Jocelyn... it was his idea."

Samson Nan hardly hesitated and blamed William Wei.

"???"

William Wei was stunned for a moment, turned his head, and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"..."

Jocelyn drooped her eyelids and looked at the person in front of her.

"Lame."

"Cough, cough..."

William Wei coughed lightly, scratched his head, and looked to the side.

He said softly.

"But..."

Her voice came from her ear.

"Thank you~ it's all right now."

William Wei turned around.

She frowned slightly, but there was a smile on her lips.

They were standing three or four meters apart, looking at each other like this.

"..."

He didn't know what to say for a moment, his pupils trembling uncontrollably, standing still.

"Hey, wait... why is your face turning red?"

Before he could react, Jocelyn York had already walked up to him.

She stretched out five fingers and waved them in front of his eyes.

"No, is there...?"

He was somewhat flustered and averted his gaze.

"Oh, it's really red..."

Samson Nan laughed and nudged him with his elbow.

"Samson Nan, don't mess around..."

"It's not..."

Jocelyn York covered her mouth and restrained herself from laughing.

"When this rough guy's face turns red, I won't praise you for being cute, hehe..."

"Rather, it's kind of disgusting, please don't do this next time."

Samson Nan, on the other hand, said with his chin resting on his hand.

"..."

He lowered his head, took a deep breath.

Then he raised his head and, somewhat desperate, raised his voice:

"Ah ah ah~ so what if my face turned red? So?"

If he loses momentum, these two people will keep leading him around by the nose, and that's what his past experiences taught him...

"Huh...?"

"Is there a problem? As they say, when you're with your brothers, you can say whatever you want. When you're with a girl, you talk like an idiot. Your face turns red when you see a girl, and when a woman talks to you, you think she likes you! This is what I'm saying! Is there a problem? Let me tell you, this is the privilege of being an unpopular person!! Is it embarrassing?!! Huh??"

His mouth rattled like a machine gun, all in one go.

"..."

The air suddenly quieted down.

"Oh, um..."

"..."

Neither Samson Nan nor Jocelyn York said anything, feeling a bit awkward, they looked to the side.

"Uh, um..."

This sudden silence made William Wei a bit flustered.

"You, aren't you going to say something...?"

"..."

"Sorry..."

"Wait...Why are you apologizing?"

He grabbed Samson Nan by the collar, hesitated, then turned to look at Jocelyn York.

"..."

She looked at him, wanting to say something but stopping herself, squinting her eyes and revealing a soft smile.

...

He covered his forehead, feeling like crying but unable to utter a word for a long time.

...

"Wei Ge, I think... it's not embarrassing, but actually quite cute when your face turns red~"

Samson Nan patted his shoulder.

"Shut up."

...

Jocelyn York watched the two of them arguing.

She cleared her throat.

Whether they stayed silent or argued like this...

Simply being by their side made her feel at ease.

Why is that...

"..."

"Today..."

She spoke softly.

She stepped back, with her hands behind her back.

"Something unhappy happened, hmm~ a terrible day~"

She forced a smile, looking at the ground.

"But, I'm very happy, oh~"

Contradictory words mixed with the sound of footsteps, but nothing felt out of place, permeating the air.

She lifted her head, a scarf covering her flushed face.

Steam was exhaled, dispersing with her breath.

"As for me..."

She whispered as she walked towards the two of them.

Slightly tiptoeing, she reached out with her hands, wrapping them around their necks.

Her arms exerted strength against the nape of their necks.

Both of them had to bend slightly.

Silently, she pressed her face between their heads.

At such a close distance, she must be able to tell them, right?

"I like you two the most~"

...

"..."

After she finished speaking, she let go of their hands.

With her hands behind her back and a smile on her face, she stepped back.

"I'm going home~ Goodbye."

"..."

Samson Nan paused for a moment, then smiled lightly and waved at her.

"Ah, take care on your way."

"..."

William Wei was still a bit absent-minded, slightly agape.

"You idiot, William Wei! Did you go mute?"

"Oh, no, goodbye..."

He regained his senses and spoke softly.

"Hehe~"

She pursed her lips, satisfied, and turned around.

"Oh, by the way..."

Just as she took a couple of steps, she turned back.

"Shall we spend Christmas together?"

"Hmm~"

William Wei didn't hesitate much and casually agreed.

"Then..."

Her gaze swept past him and lingered on Samson Nan.

"I..."

"This guy, of course, is fine too~"

William Wei pressed his hand on Samson Nan's shoulder and cut in.

"..."

Samson Nan didn't answer immediately.

He hesitated, seemingly lost in thought.

"Why, are you going to spend time with your sister at home?"

"..."

He paused again, shaking his head.

"No, I will come."

"Okay, then... I'll wait for you."

"Yes..."

...

...

Christmas, huh...

...

...

After parting ways with Jocelyn York and William Wei, he returned to his apartment alone.

Click.

He opened the door.

The room was pitch black, unable to see anything.

"Bark bark bark!"

Waiwai heard his voice and wagged his tail as he rushed over.

He switched on the living room light.

"Why, didn't I leave food for you today?"

When he left today, he specifically left a day's worth of dog food in Waiwai's bowl.

"Bark bark bark!"

This dog usually only barked incessantly when he was hungry.

He paced and walked into the kitchen.

There was still half a bowl of dog food on the floor.

"You haven't eaten yet..."

He squatted down and rubbed its belly.

"Are you sick?"

"Woof!"

"..."

It seemed energetic, so it probably wasn't sick.

"If there's nothing wrong, stop barking. Otherwise, the neighbors downstairs will come knocking again."

"Woof woof woof!"

"Oh, so the more I talk, the more excited you get, huh?"

"Woof woof!"

"Good, since I didn't eat dog meat on the Winter Solstice a few days ago, I'll stew you later!"

"Woof woof woof!"

"..."

He was speechless and scratched his cheek.

"I guess you're just lonely from being single for too long and want a female dog, right?"

"???"

"Isn't that it?"

Since the first day he brought it home, this stupid dog had never really obeyed him.

Did this dumb dog not understand who provided it with food and shelter every day?

...

"I don't care about you anymore. Bark as much as you want..."

Indeed, why bother with a dog...

Thinking this way, he stood up and sat down in front of the computer, putting on his headphones.

"Woof woof."

When the dog saw that he was indifferent, it wagged its tail and barked twice before running back into the room.

In less than a minute, it ran back out.

It had something in its mouth and placed it at his feet.

"What's this..."

He lowered his head and took a look.

It turned out to be a canvas shoe.

Raina Nan had left it here before...

"..."

He was speechless and just stared at the dog.

The dog also stuck out its tongue and looked at him.

"What's wrong, do you miss her?"

"Woof!"

"..."

It had been a long time since she had come here...

Or rather, since the day she left from here, the two of them hadn't contacted each other again...

"Sigh..."

He sighed.

"I'll let you hear her voice, alright?"

"Woof!"

As he said that, he took out his phone from his pocket.

After a moment of hesitation, he dialed her number.

Beep...

Beep...

After two busy tones...

"The user you dialed has turned off their phone. Please try again later."

He was stunned for a moment.

Turned off?

"Woof woof woof!"

The dog suddenly became excited, placed its front paws on his knee, and stretched its neck forward.

"It didn't connect! You hear that, it's pointless!"

Impatiently, he pressed the hang-up button and placed the phone aside.

"Woof...?"

The dog stopped barking and whimpered softly, looking at him.

"..."

He thought for a moment and picked up the phone again.

...

...

Ding ding ding.

"Hello?"

His mother wiped her hands and walked to the phone on the coffee table.

She picked up the receiver.

"Mom, it's me."

"Samson Nan?"

She was stunned for a moment. It was quite rare for him to call the home phone.

"What's the matter?"

"Is Yuyu at home?"

"Yes, are you looking for her?"

"You...ask her to come and take a call, her phone is turned off."

"Oh, then wait a moment..."

His mother said, shouting upstairs.

After about half a minute, she finally came downstairs.

"You called me?"

"Phone, someone's looking for you."

"Who...?"

She hesitated for a moment.

"Your older brother. Hurry up, he's waiting!"

His mother held the phone with one hand and waved to her.

"..."

She stood still, her lips trembling slightly.

After a while, she spoke softly:

"Just tell them I'm busy..."

"What are you saying, hurry up!"

"..."

It seemed she had no intention of compromising and stood there motionless.

Hesitant, she looked to the side.

"......"

Mom was dumbfounded for a moment.

She picked up the phone.

"Nam, Samson Nan, your sister has something going on right now. What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Mom, I heard it all. Why are you pretending... just let her answer the phone!"

He raised his voice, sounding a bit angry.

"......"

With her son speaking like that, there was nothing Mom could do. She turned around and helplessly looked at Raina Nan.

"......"

Raina was stunned for two seconds.

Then she walked over and took the phone.

"......"

"Yuyu?"

"......"

"Little One?"

"Speak. I'm listening..."

She sounded a little impatient as she spoke softly.

"Just wait a moment..."

Suddenly, there was no sound on the other end of the line.

"Woof woof woof!"

"Huh?!"

She was startled and almost dropped the phone in her hand.

"Waiwai...?"

"This little guy says it misses you~ I let it listen to your voice~"

"......"

"Hey, why aren't you saying anything~"

"What should I say..."

"Just say whatever, sing a song if you don't know what to say, or even tell a joke. Waiwai is waiting to listen!"

"I'm hanging up."

"Wait wait wait!!"

He quickly called out.

"Cough cough... Let's talk seriously now."

His voice became much quieter as he hesitated and softly asked.

"Tomorrow is Christmas... Do you have any plans?"

"......"

She probably guessed what he was going to say next.

Silent, she didn't reply.

......

From childhood to adulthood, her parents never cared about foreign holidays, let alone celebrating Christmas with them.

But at this time of year in previous years, Samson Nan would take her to the park. There would be no Christmas tree or gifts, just the two of them sitting on a park bench with a box of popcorn, watching the bustling crowd, as if they were celebrating Christmas...

"I might be with Wei-ge... and Luo Jia and the others. Will you come?"

"......"

"Yuyu?"

"No."

She spoke into the phone's microphone, her voice weak.

"I... I already made plans with Ruo Xi to go to her house."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah."

"......"

A brief silence.

"Then there's nothing I can do..."

"Anything else?"

"No, nothing..."

"Well, I'm hanging up."

"Oh, okay, bye..."

"......"

She hung up the phone.

Standing there, she was stunned for two seconds before turning around.

"What did your brother say to you?"

Mom stuck her head out of the kitchen and looked at her.

"Nothing."

Without looking at her, Raina walked past the living room.

"I'm going upstairs first..."

"Oh, alright..."

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