Huo Yao smiled sweetly as she nodded to Huo Yulin. “Thanks for the gifts.”
Huo Yulin pursed his lips and rubbed Huo Yao’s head when he saw her smiling from the bottom of her heart. “Since we are family, you don’t have to thank me.”
“Uh huh,” acknowledged Huo Yao. She sadly carried the box that weighed kilos without any effort and went upstairs.
Despite her misery, carrying the box seemed easy to her.
Huo Yulin went quiet.
Was his skinny little sister really capable of carrying the box of books?
Considering the weight of all the books in the box, even he would have trouble holding it.
Huo Yulin stood where he was and couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
**
Before long, it was Chinese New Year’s eve.
It was a good year for the Huo family now that everyone had finally gathered under one roof.
Huo Yao was back. Huo Yulin also came home after staying abroad for years. Song Ning and Huo Jinyan felt happy as they looked at their family having reunion dinner together. Song Ning was particularly moved and even her eyes were slightly red.
The Huo family was not in the habit of staying up late to usher in the Chinese New Year. In the past, they went back to their rooms after watching the Chinese New Year gala on the television for a while. However, things were different this year and no one went back early. Instead, everyone sat in the living room and watched the gala.
Huo Xiang was invited to appear at the Chinese New Year gala, but he had turned it down.
It was his first Chinese New Year with his little sister. There would always be other galas to come, but it would be sad if he missed his first reunion dinner with his little sister.
The two of them were of similar ages. After Huo Xiang was labeled Little Princess, he stopped trying to change public opinion and just rolled with it.
The two of them were sitting curled up on the couch with their legs crossed without a shred of concern for their image.
Huo Tingrui rolled his eyes after looking at them, especially his fourth little brother. He said to his father, “Dad, do something about your son. He is leading Yao astray by playing video games with her all the time.”
Huo Jinyan glanced at Huo Tingrui and sneered. “Are you not his older brother? Why aren’t you doing anything about it?”
Huo Tingrui went speechless.
How could his father throw him such a curveball?
Why didn’t his father think twice about abusing him?
Huo Jinyan ignored Huo Tingrui and continued eating melon seeds while watching the gala.
Huo Yulin had stepped out to answer the phone. Huo Yanxi was sitting the furthest in the living room. He looked envious when he saw how well Huo Yao and Huo Xiang got along.
However, he lowered his head after looking at them briefly without watching the television or using his phone.
Huo Tingrui glanced at Huo Yanxi and sighed. He got up, walked over to his older brother, and sat down. “Are you still thinking about that?”
Huo Yanxi was caught by surprise when he heard what Huo Tingrui said. Huo Yanxi shook his head without answering.
Huo Tingrui did not know how to convince him otherwise. After all, he had said everything he could, but Huo Yanxi was unable to forgive himself. Huo Tingrui could only pat Huo Yanxi on the shoulder to encourage him.
Meanwhile, Huo Yao and Huo Xiang stopped playing video games after a couple of rounds.
“I am going to give my grandmother a call,” said Huo Yao after turning off the game.
Huo Xiang nodded. “Say happy Chinese New Year to her for us.”
Huo Yao stood up and waved to Huo Xiang in acknowledgment before heading to the garden.
There was a swing in the garden. Huo Yao put on her coat and sat on the swing. After chatting with Old Madam Yang for about 30 minutes, she hung up. However, she didn’t go back to the living room right away. Instead, she leaned against the swing lazily as she swung on it gently before she opened her WeChat.
There was a red dot on her WeChat application and someone had sent a request to be added to her account.
#
