Chapter 288: The Night Before Chinese New Year (2)

“It’s the New Year; how can we not light up a few fireworks? Let’s go get some,” While she normally projected a cold facade, Miss Shen was still very much an innocent young girl on the inside. Lighting up fireworks during the New Year was something that no one could change her mind on, so she brought it up as soon as they’d stepped out of the house.

“You’re not a kid anymore; why’re you still talking about lighting up fireworks at your age? Don’t you know anything about being environmentally friendly?” argued Shen Jingchen for the sake of it.

Shen Jingbin stared him in the eye before turning her gaze to Zhao Chengning. One look at him was all it took to befuddle Zhao Chengning, who was addicted to coddling her. Let alone setting off fireworks; he'd even be willing to make one for her. And so, he nodded his head without a moment’s hesitation.

Shen Jingchen helplessly held his head in his hand, while Zhao Chengan looked a little unsettled by his henpecked brother. He shook his head and whispered something to Shen Jingchen before walking off to the garage.

“Where’s he going?” Shen Jingbin asked.

“Where do you think? He’s going to buy your fireworks. We’ll be splitting up; Zhao Chengan and I will form a pair while you two lovebirds can walk together. This way, we won’t be suffocated to death by all your lovey-dovey antics. Let’s meet up in a bit. I’ll say this now: you aren’t allowed to set off the fireworks first if you get back earlier than us!” Shen Jingchen glumly replied.

“Tch, and who was the one calling me childish just now?”

“Hmph, mind your own business. Either way, just remember what I said!” Shen Jingchen said as he stared at the couple who’d been holding hands ever since they’d left the house. Then, shaking his head, he jogged to catch up with Zhao Chengan. A minute later, a car could be heard starting up, and two headlights flashed before slowly disappearing.

B City was especially cold during the twelfth lunar month. Today, Shen Jingbin was wearing a woolen shirt and hat. She’d topped it off with a red overcoat, and its brilliant colour made her look exceptionally beautiful. Affected by the cold, her cheeks adopted a faint reddish hue. In spite of that, her eyes remained bright, clear and full of life.

Generally speaking, most men couldn’t tell whether a woman had makeup on or not. That is, aside from playboys who flitted from one woman to another. This was why Zhao Chengning couldn’t tell that Shen Jingbin had makeup on today. All he knew was that she looked even more stunning than she usually did, but he couldn't figure out why.

“Is it me or do you look even better than you usually do?” He asked as he pulled her into his embrace. This way, she could share some of his warmth.

“Is that so? I thought I always looked this good.”

“You’re absolutely stunning today,” Zhao Chengning replied in a whisper before he lowered his head and delivered a peck at an ear that had broken free from her hat with his warm lips.

It was cold, but still a comforting sensation.

Shen Jingbin, who was ticklish, shied away and shot a reproachful look at him. “What do you think you’re thinking?”

Zhao Chengning returned her glare with an innocent smile. “I just wanted to see if you were cold… Oh, you are pretty cold. Should I warm you up?” After saying so, he began reaching towards her ears.

Shen Jingbin’s ears were one of her sensitive spots, and she wasn’t about to let anyone just casually grab them. She hurriedly struggled free from his embrace and dashed off like a wisp of smoke. A moment passed as Zhao Chengning stood there in stunned silence before he ran after her as well.

“Where are you running off to? It’s cold; you shouldn’t be running in this weather.”

“I’ll stop running if you stop trying to play with my ears.”

“Alright, alright. I won’t play with your ears. Stop running.”

Shen Jingbin obediently stopped running and waited where she was for him to catch up. However, little did she expect him to immediately pounce on her and grab her ears as soon as he caught up. Shen Jingbin was utterly furious and dashed off once again.

Although they were supposed to buy fireworks, there weren’t any shops that sold them in the vicinity of the Zhao household. The district they were in was filled with villas, and the price of houses here was even more expensive than those in the city by a fair bit. That being said, there obviously wouldn’t be any fireworks factories around them, and those mom and pop shops that sold fireworks wouldn’t come anywhere near this district either. As a result, the couple just toured their surroundings for a bit and flirted with one another as they waited for their unlucky elder brothers to return with the fireworks.

Said brothers returned rather quickly, and it didn’t take long before their car could be seen at the entrance to the district.

“Hehe, I knew you two were just going to flirt with one another! We’d probably be waiting till next year if we really did send the two of you out to buy fireworks,” The car stopped beside the couple, and Shen Jingchen got off. He rounded the car and made his way to the boot, motioning for Zhao Chengning to follow him at the same time.

Shen Jingbin tagged along with Zhao Chengning and found that the boot was filled to the brim with all sorts of fireworks.

“Why’d you buy so much?”

“Your future brother-in-law was afraid that you wouldn’t have enough fireworks to play with, so he almost bought out the entire shop’s stock,” Shen Jingchen said as he emptied the contents of the boot.

Speaking of which, Zhao Chengan was your stereotypical person who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. He looked rather stern but was actually really caring. Shen Jingchen was originally planning to buy just a box of sparklers and hand Shen Jingbin a single stick. But, Zhao Chengan purchased all of the fireworks that were suitable for girls to play with as soon as he stepped into the shop.

Once all the fireworks were removed from the boot, Zhao Chengan stuck his head out of the window and said, “You guys go look for a good place to light the fireworks. I’ll park the car.”

The three others nodded in agreement.

Shen Jingbin felt that Zhao Chengan wasn’t the type of person who looked like he’d participate in these types of activities. So, to prevent him from slinking away after parking the car, she said, “Thank you, Big Brother! After we find a place, we’ll wait for you to come before setting off the fireworks.” After she said that, an absurdly sweet smile blossomed on her face.

Zhao Chengan’s eyes widened in surprise. Wasn’t she implying that they wouldn’t light the fireworks if he didn’t come?

Zhao Chengan’s gaze drifted over to Zhao Chengning, who only had eyes for his future wife. “Alright,” He replied after a moment of silence.

Once she’d received his reply, Shen Jingbin began looking for a suitable spot to light the fireworks with Shen Jingchen and Zhao Chengning.

The villas were constructed in suburban areas with fewer people, so it didn’t take them long to find an empty plot of land once they’d stepped out of the district. By this time, there were already many small groups of two to three people clustered together and setting off their fireworks. There were even young lovers or families that brought their children along.

The trio randomly picked out an area with relatively fewer people and set down their fireworks to wait for Zhao Chengan.

Afraid that she’d be cold, Zhao Chengning shifted over to Shen Jingbin’s side and grabbed her hands before stuffing them into his own pockets.

Off to the side, Shen Jingchen was howling in anguish on the inside as he hurriedly covered his eyes.

Single dogs really did lead wretched lives! He really had to find a wife of his own ASAP. Once he did, he’d show his wife off to Shen Jingbin!