Against the Light - Chapter 174
Chapter 174: Happy~
Gu Xinran and Bai Yilan were busy in the kitchen preparing dinner, occasionally glancing into the living room. Seeing the others completely engrossed in their game of mahjong, they wore looks of gratification.
Shi Qing had just learned how to play from Ye Nan two days ago and hadn't had anyone to play with since. Today, they finally had enough people for a game.
"I never expected Xiao Qing to get along so well with them," Bai Yilan remarked with a smile after watching for a moment.
"You must have forgotten Xiao Qing's identity. If you really think about it, she's older than anyone else at that table," Gu Xinran said, laughing.
Realization dawned on Bai Yilan.
"How is she at mahjong?"
"Cannon fodder."
Bai Yilan chuckled. "That's fine. She can feed them some winning tiles and keep them happy."
"You don't need to worry about that. She couldn't win even if she wanted to."
Hearing Gu Xinran say that made Bai Yilan genuinely curious. "I'm going to go see." With that, she put down what she was doing and tiptoed out of the kitchen.
Gu Xinran watched her go with a smile in her eyes.
A short while later, she returned, clutching her forehead and complaining of a headache.
"Witnessed it?"
"Her mahjong skills are on par with your Fight the Landlord skills. She'll break up a winning hand just to discard a tile, and she aims straight for the cannons. Ugh." Bai Yilan sighed heavily, took the basin, and prepared to continue washing the vegetables.
"Let me. You should rest for a bit, or go play with them."
"No way."
"Then…" Gu Xinran thought for a moment, a sudden spark of inspiration hitting her. She went to the bedroom to get her phone, then pulled Yilan over to the dining table and had her sit down, placing the phone in front of her. "Then you can help me reply to messages. There are too many New Year's greetings; I can't keep up."
"Alright. This will give me a chance to check if you've been up to any mischief behind my back." Yilan propped her cheek on one hand and glanced at her. The two shared a smile.
Gu Xinran hummed a little tune as she prepared dinner according to the menu they had decided on earlier, looking to be in a fine mood.
After replying to messages for a while, Bai Yilan grew bored and found herself unconsciously staring at Gu Xinran's busy back, a silly grin on her face.
Just as she was lost in the sight, the phone began to ding incessantly. Bai Yilan looked down and saw that it was the newcomers from the company, sending New Year's greetings to Gu Xinran one by one.
Gu Xinran took a moment to look back and saw Yilan earnestly replying to the messages, a gentle smile gracing her lips.
"Mommy, when will dinner be ready? Xiao Ye is hungry~" The little one came pattering in and climbed onto Yilan's lap.
Yilan hugged the Little Milk Bun, patted her round little belly, and planted a fierce kiss on her. The little girl carried a faint, milky scent that was especially pleasant.
"Just a little longer, Xiao Ye. It's almost ready," Gu Xinran replied.
"Okay~"
The last dish, braised prawns, was finally done. Bai Yilan brought the food to the table, arranging it with particular care, and called for everyone to come and eat.
Lin Yuqing was the first to rush out, as if escaping for her life.
Yu Hua followed close behind.
Shi Qing and Ye Nan, on the other hand, walked out at a leisurely pace, both wearing the smiles of victors.
Everyone took their seats, and then they all raised their glasses to celebrate the arrival of the new year.
Xiao Ye held up her little milk bottle and clinked it against everyone's glass in turn, making them all roar with laughter.
After toasting each of the elders, Gu Xinran turned to Lin Yuqing and clinked glasses with her. They met each other's eyes, and everything was understood without a word.
During the meal, it was mostly Shi Qing and Yu Hua who did the talking. Their conversation revolved around Yilan and Xinran. Since Shi Qing had missed Yilan's childhood, Yu Hua told her many stories about Yilan's time studying under her.
Yilan felt rather awkward listening from the side, so she pulled Xinran out into the courtyard for a walk. Xiao Ye wanted to tag along, toddling after them, but Yilan stopped her. The two of them held hands and strolled through the yard.
Bai Yilan made a call to Jiang Boyan to wish her adoptive mother, Jiang Ning, a happy new year. The mother-daughter pair had gone traveling for the holidays this year, free of all cares and living life to the fullest.
A short while later, Bai Yilan hung up and glanced at Gu Xinran. "President Gu, have you had your fill of looking? Any more and I'll have to start charging." This woman had been staring at her with a mischievous look for ages!
Gu Xinran beamed, then glanced back. Seeing that they were far from the living room and surrounded by quiet solitude, she grew bold, leaned in, and planted a loud kiss on Yilan's cheek.
"Was that enough? There's more where that came from!"
"Get away." Bai Yilan wiped her cheek. "A kiss is a kiss, but why are you drooling? Just like Xiao Ye." Her tone was full of disdain~
Gu Xinran froze, touched the corner of her lips, and cleared her throat.
It was all her wife's fault for being too delicious~
"Huh? It's snowing?" Bai Yilan exclaimed softly, looking up at the sky. Scattered snowflakes drifted down, illuminated by the streetlights. She held out her palm, trying to catch one, but the flakes were too small and melted the instant they touched her skin.
Gu Xinran stared at her, dazzled by her bright smile. She was bathed in the silvery moonlight, with fine snowflakes drifting around her, looking pure and beautiful.
Gu Xinran stealthily backed away to the side.
Bai Yilan noticed the space beside her was empty. She turned her head, and her vision was suddenly filled with a brilliant light, startling her into taking a step back. Looking closer, she saw that a fireworks mortar had appeared in front of her at some point. Colorful fireworks shot out continuously in a staggered display, like a waterfall of sparks.
A look of delight spread across Bai Yilan's face. She watched for a while, and as the fireworks faded, the figure standing behind them became clearer.
Xinran stood directly opposite her, holding a bouquet of orchids and looking at her with deep affection.
"Happy New Year, Teacher Bai."
Bai Yilan had been feeling quite moved, but hearing that form of address, she couldn't help but laugh.
"Happy New Year, Boss Gu."
Gu Xinran walked over to Yilan and placed the flowers in her hands.
"We're not getting any younger, and you're still pulling stunts like the youngsters." Bai Yilan sounded disdainful, but she accepted the flowers without a hint of hesitation.
Gu Xinran pulled her into an embrace. "Isn't it a bit early for you to be tired of me? When I'm in my seventies and eighties, I'll still be giving you flowers every year."
"You clingy thing," Yilan chided softly.
After their walk, the two returned to the house and froze. Only Lin Yuqing was there, clearing the table.
"Where are the others?"
"Director Yu and President Shi are chatting in the tea room. Xiao Ye got sleepy, so Auntie Ye took her to bed."
"That child. This afternoon she was insisting she'd stay up to welcome the new year, and she couldn't even make it to midnight." Yilan took off her coat and peeked into Shi Qing's room. She saw Auntie Ye with an arm around the little one, both fast asleep. She quietly backed out and closed the door.
Gu Xinran and Lin Yuqing cleared the dishes together while Bai Yilan went back to their bedroom to wash up.
When Gu Xinran finished her chores and returned to the bedroom, the first thing she saw was her fragrant, soft wife lying on the bed, fiddling with her phone, still diligently helping her reply to messages.
Losing all self-control, she pounced onto the bed, only to have her ear grabbed by Yilan and be tossed into the bathroom.
Bai Yilan played with the phone, casually scrolling down. The countless message notifications gave her a headache. Many people, after she replied, started trying to chat, which was exhausting. After a moment's thought, she simply replied to every message with the ultimate conversation-ending emoji—a smile. :)
And the phone truly fell silent.
Gu Xinran took a quick shower, and the moment she came out, she dove straight into the covers, eager to hold Yilan's warm body.
"Tsk, what's the rush?" Yilan slapped her hand away, took a towel to help her dry her wet hair, then sent her back to the bathroom to blow-dry it. Only when she was completely ready was she allowed back on the bed.
"There's no third wheel today!" Xinran looked at her with pleading eyes.
"Oh." Yilan rolled her eyes and gave a faint reply, having long since realized what she was after.
"!?" Wasn't that reaction a little too calm?
Gu Xinran wondered if her hint hadn't been obvious enough. Her restless hands immediately wrapped around Yilan's body, beginning to roam.
"Not today," Yilan said seriously, pressing down on her hand.
Gu Xinran froze. Today? It wasn't a special day!
"Auntie Ye always says that whatever you do on the first day of the new year, you'll do every day for the rest of the year."
Gu Xinran was silent for a moment.
"We can't?"
"!?"
The next second, she was nearly kicked off the bed by Yilan~
The next morning, Gu Xinran woke up early, full of energy. She had finally devoured her sweet little wife yesterday, and now, that very person was still curled up in her arms, sleeping soundly.
Gu Xinran looked up at the clock. It was just past seven, still early. She was thinking about sleeping a little longer with Yilan when she suddenly heard the pitter-patter of footsteps. A jolt went through her, and a warning bell sounded in her mind! She immediately shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep.
The next second, the bedroom door was pushed open gently. Xiao Ye blinked, staring at the bed for a moment.
Gu Xinran listened intently to the sounds outside. After a long silence, she assumed Xiao Ye had left. Just as she was about to open her eyes, she felt a tug on the quilt at the foot of the bed.
She quickly opened her eyes to see the little one struggling to climb onto the bed!
Yilan sensed the movement and was instantly jolted awake.
"Good morning, Mommy. Did Xiao Ye wake you up?" Xiao Ye scratched her head, looking confusedly at their strange expressions.
The two exchanged a glance and both pulled the quilt higher. "Um… no, sweetie, be a good girl and go find Grandma, okay? Mommy wants to sleep a little longer."
"Can Xiao Ye sleep with Mommy?" Xiao Ye pouted, crawling toward them. When she saw that they didn't hug her and pull her under the covers like usual, she was suddenly at a loss.
"Uh…" Bai Yilan opened her mouth.
"Xiao Ye, you can't disturb your mothers when they're sleeping. Oh? You're awake." Ye Nan, seeing the door open, had come over to check and entered the room when she saw they were awake.
The two looked at each other, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads.
"Shouldn't you two be up by now? The child is up earlier than you. Aren't you ashamed?" Yu Hua and Shi Qing had returned from their morning walk and tutted when they saw the two still lazing in bed.
Lin Yuqing had also just gotten up. After washing up, she came out and saw everyone crowded around the couple's bedroom door, so she curiously came over to peek inside.
Seeing this group of people staring at the two of them, Gu Xinran's mind went blank.
The people involved were now feeling awkward. Very awkward.
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