"Where can I buy red envelopes?" Lu Zhou asked.

"No need to give my parents red envelopes," Xiao Yi said, driving his brother's Santana. "All my money comes from you, so why give red envelopes?"

Lu Zhou nonchalantly agreed with a sound. Xiao Yi said, "Zhou ge, I'll take you out to play. Let's go to the hot springs on the first day of the new year."

Following Xiao Yi, Lu Zhou spent a day touring the county. Xiao Yi knew that Lu Zhou rarely attended public events in Beijing; he stuck to home, cars, and indoor places. Even shopping malls were almost untouched, and if he wanted to shop in a large mall, he would have to go abroad.

Xiao Yi and Lu Zhou started by playing arcade games and then walked through the flower market. Initially expressionless in the mall, Lu Zhou gradually showed interest in the items. Xiao Yi knew he could effortlessly buy the entire mall, and even a single piece of his clothing could cover the expenses. So, he didn't take Lu Zhou to buy clothes; instead, they explored stalls selling souvenirs and indulged in some Hubei snacks.

In the afternoon, they went to the flower market again. Lu Zhou seemed genuinely interested in the items there. As he looked at the colourful things on the stalls, he said, "I used to have a lot of toys I wanted to buy during the New Year."

"Me too," Xiao Yi said, holding a potted flower. Watching Lu Zhou bend down to play with the colourful items on the stall, he found it amusing.

In the late afternoon, the two spent a long time wandering through a large supermarket, encountering many elderly folks buying New Year goods. Xiao Yi pushed the cart, and Lu Zhou casually threw things into it as if they were free.

In the end, Xiao Yi asked Xiao Qiang to come down and carry a pile of New Year goods upstairs. His parents prepared a hot pot to treat Lu Zhou. Five people were sitting at the table, and on the winter table, the hot pot emitted steam. On the television at eight o'clock, Lu Zhou starred in a melodramatic drama, ‘The Golden Hound’.

Laughing and chatting, everyone watched Lu Zhou and ate. Xiao Yi's parents had apparently learned from Xiao Qiang that Lu Zhou was someone special, so they spoke more cautiously. However, Lu Zhou made a few jokes, easing the somewhat awkward situation. Xiao Yi laughed and said, "Just treat Zhou ge as Du Ma; he and I are close."

During his university days, Du Ma would sometimes come to Xiao Yi's house for the New Year. Lu Zhou clinked glasses with Xiao Qiang and drank with him.

After dinner, Lu Zhou rolled up his sleeves and helped Xiao Yi's mom clean up the dishes and chopsticks. Xiao Yi immediately moved to help, but Lu Zhou stopped him, saying, "What can you do? You're useless at everything!"

Xiao Yi's mom laughed heartily, saying, "I'll handle it. Xiao Lu you just put the dishes and chopsticks in the sink."

Late at night, Lu Zhou seemed a bit tired from the day's activities. He fell asleep early and, before sleeping, suggested going for a run the next day.

After Lu Zhou fell asleep, Xiao Yi specifically kept an eye on Xiao Qiang, watching if he made any secretive calls or informed friends about Lu Zhou visiting their house. Xiao Qiang, however, kept tight-lipped for the sake of his car. Satisfied, Xiao Yi held a family meeting and emphasized the importance of keeping the matter confidential, assuring that it was closely tied to his work. The family unanimously pledged not to cause trouble for Xiao Yi, and only then did he feel at ease to go to sleep.

*

When staying at Lu Zhou's house in Beijing, Xiao Yi would hug the one-meter-long Lu Zhou plush toy every day. Since he wasn't used to sleeping with it, he unintentionally treated Lu Zhou as a substitute for the plush toy. As Lu Zhou snored away in deep sleep, completely unaware, Xiao Yi clung to him. His whole arm rested on the pillow, and Xiao Yi wrapped around Lu Zhou, with both feet entangled with one of his like a tree sloth.

Early morning.

Xiao Yi found himself entangled with Lu Zhou and immediately had a spasm on his face. Carefully, he released him and moved to the side. Lu Zhou was still sound asleep, and there was a tent in his underwear.

After Xiao Yi retreated to the edge of the bed, he took a deep breath.

"Hey... Zhou ge." Xiao Yi said cautiously, "It's time to get up—"

Half an hour later.

"Are you even a man?" Lu Zhou, wearing sportswear, stood by the road behind the residential area, waiting for Xiao Yi to catch up.

Breathing heavily, leaning against a tree, Xiao Yi said, "You... you go ahead, don't wait for me..."

Lu Zhou replied, "I don't know the way, and you need more exercise!"

Xiao Yi was finding it challenging to keep up with Lu Zhou. Being tall and well-built, with a background as an athlete, running ten kilometers was as easy as eating for him. Xiao Yi, a music major, felt deceived. The assistant contract had never mentioned having to accompany the boss for a run!

"Huff—huff—" Xiao Yi's face was pale, feeling like he was reaching his limit. He was on the verge of collapsing on the roadside. Lu Zhou exhaled a breath of warm air, removed his earmuffs and hat, took off his jacket, and wore a tank top, revealing muscular arms. Xiao Yi followed behind, limping.

"You should exercise more regularly!" Lu Zhou said. "You look like a skinny chicken all the time."

Xiao Yi's eyes were spinning, and Lu Zhou continued, "Give me the money; let's buy breakfast. I want to eat hot dry noodles."

A street vendor selling hot dry noodles was already open. Xiao Yi, breathless, followed Lu Zhou to eat. Lu Zhou had two large bowls and asked for a bowl of hot water to drink and wash the bowl. Xiao Yi managed to finish one bowl and collapsed in his seat, feeling slightly more comfortable.

"Put on the scarf; don't catch a cold," Lu Zhou said.

Xiao Yi replied, "I'm okay. I... can't anymore, no, I'm okay... I mean, not okay now..."

After the run, Xiao Yi was drenched in sweat, feeling much more refreshed. People were gradually filling the streets. They walked along the long street, stopped at a bus station, and prepared to go home.

Lu Zhou's sweat had dried, leaving a patch of sweat stains on the back of his tank top. Xiao Yi shook out his jacket and helped him put it on. They happened to pass by a shopping mall, ready to take a taxi or catch a bus.

"Excuse me... Are you Lu Zhou?" a male high school student asked. "Can you... give me an autograph?"

Xiao Yi: "..."

Lu Zhou: "..."

Lu Zhou took off his earmuffs and hat, revealing slightly longer hair, and put on his jacket. After the run, both Xiao Yi and Lu Zhou completely forgot about the possibility of being recognized when they went out.

Lu Zhou quickly reacted and said, "Shh, don't shout. Give me the pen."

The male student was on the verge of passing out and stammered, "Is it really you? I... I... I... I..."

The guy turned around, and both Xiao Yi and Lu Zhou felt a shock. Behind the bus stop, there was a group of high school students, seemingly out for shopping, eating, and watching movies during the winter break. It was only 9 a.m.! Xiao Yi thought, "Damn! Are you guys too diligent? What are you doing, leaving home so early during the winter break—!"

The high school students there had long noticed Lu Zhou and sent this boy over to find out. Lu Zhou, frightened, signed an autograph for him and said, "Goodbye."

"Wow—!"

"Ah ah ah—!"

A burst of crazy screams. Near the bus stop, in the shops, inside the newsstands, people riding bikes were all startled. The group of high school students rushed over.

"Lu Zhou—!!"

"Lu Zhou ah ah ah—"

"Lu Zhou!"

Lu Zhou and Xiao Yi immediately ran for their lives, sprinting wildly into an alley. Xiao Yi shouted, "This way!"

Xiao Yi had imagined countless scenarios, but he never thought they would be chased and surrounded by fans in his hometown. Xiao Yi flipped over a wall, reaching out to pull Lu Zhou. Lu Zhou shouted, "Back off!"

Then, Lu Zhou kicked the trash can, jumped gracefully over it, flipping over the wall. The fans chased into the alley, screaming, "Lu Zhou—!"

Dragging Lu Zhou, Xiao Yi rushed out from the other side, crossed the street. Fans caught up from the corner, and the place was crowded. Xiao Yi took Lu Zhou into a mall, and in an instant, chaos ensued. The screams of "Lu Zhou" were almost flipping the mall. The staff in the newly opened clothing store didn't know what was happening. Looking left and right, they realized what people were calling, and instantly, there was a scream. Wearing high heels, they chased after them.

"Aren't you supposed to be too weak to run?" Lu Zhou roared.

Xiao Yi said, "It's a matter of life and death! Can we not run!"

More and more fans gathered, and Xiao Yi felt like he was in various versions of Resident Evil. Lu Zhou, who ran out of breath first, leaned against the wall, panting, waving his hand.

"I'm getting old..."

"Run faster!" Xiao Yi roared. "Be careful not to get ripped apart!"

Lu Zhou: "…"

Lu Zhou exerted all his strength to sprint, running out of the garage with Xiao Yi. Fans chased after them, but Xiao Yi's agile legs had successfully shaken off quite a few. Then, taking turns left and right, Xiao Yi led Lu Zhou into a city village, running along the road until they reached an empty construction site.

"You hide here!" Xiao Yi said. "Meet up with you in half an hour!"

Xiao Yi pushed Lu Zhou into a plastic shed, turned around, and once again ran across the road, diverting the fans.

Lu Zhou almost ran out of breath. After eating nearly half a kilogram of hot dry noodles plus a large bowl of water, he was chased by fans again. He felt extremely unwell, with his head spinning, stomach tossing, and gas rushing up. Suddenly, he vomited.

"Gah—!" Instantly, a strange monster-like cry scared him out of his wits.

Just after Lu Zhou finished vomiting, there was a cracking sound, as if a lightning bolt struck from the blue.

It turned out someone had raised two geese behind the shed. With Lu Zhou vomiting so forcefully, the geese were covered in noodles from head to toe.

" Quack Quack Quack quack —"

The two giant geese charged at Lu Zhou, pecking frantically. In the distance, a third goose emitted a mournful cry, rapidly heading toward Lu Zhou. Panicking, Lu Zhou screamed, grabbing a bamboo pole at hand to resist the geese. But before he could make a move, the geese swiftly snatched the bamboo pole from him. Lu Zhou shouted, "Help—!"

Lu Zhou was most afraid of such things in his life. Immediately, he didn't bother hiding and decided to run for it. Grabbing his legs, he ran while howling. The geese had combat power tens of times higher than the fans. Lu Zhou had no idea which inconsiderate person was raising geese on a construction site!

*

While running, Xiao Yi stopped.

Dozens of fans were chasing behind. Xiao Yi turned around and said, "Hey! Lu Zhou has already left!"

Fans: "???"

Xiao Yi took off his baseball cap, gave a casual bow, and said, "Our idol says, 'Wishing you all a happy New Year! Study hard when school starts!'"

Xiao Yi turned around, silently praying they wouldn't catch up, and his footsteps quickened. Employing his agile footwork, he entered a park, mixing into the crowd and then running quickly. He ran to find Lu Zhou and saw him holding a stick, leaning against the second floor of the construction site.

Below were three geese, two of which had noodles all over them, dripping with juice, flapping their wings angrily, arrogantly surrounding an iron pole.

"Hey!" Xiao Yi shouted loudly, then picked up a brick, throwing it from afar. However, he didn't aim at the geese, just hitting the iron pole with a thunderous bang. Xiao Yi picked up a few more bricks, threatening the three geese while approaching. The geese instantly ran away.

Lu Zhou was visibly scared, his face pale, in a daze.

"Did you do it on purpose? Tell me!" Lu Zhou roared.

"I I I... I didn't know there were geese here." Xiao Yi shouted in dismay, "I'm wrongly accused, oh King!"

Who knew you were afraid of geese… Xiao Yi simply couldn't have imagined this. Most likely, he had been bullied by geese when he was a child… Xiao Qiang's car was parked on the roadside, and Lu Zhou didn't recover until he got home, only calming down after lunch.

A call from Du Mei came.

"What on earth are you doing?!" Du Mei was almost driven crazy by Xiao Yi and Lu Zhou. She asked, "How did you end up in Hubei?"

"Well, it's like this." Xiao Yi explained the situation, and surprisingly, Du Mei didn't scold him. She said, "It's good to spend the New Year in a different place. Lu Zhou hasn't had a family reunion dinner for many years. Send my regards to your parents."

Xiao Yi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Okay, okay."

Du Mei suggested, "I'll contact the media and ask them not to report this... Oh? Lin Yao, I suddenly think we can report it. Let Lu Zhou record a video, wishing everyone a happy New Year. What do you think?"

After discussing with Xiao Yi, they decided to make a short video for New Year's greetings, directly stating that they were returning to their hometown, and casually mentioning that they would celebrate the New Year in Jing Shan with hot springs. They planned to post it online later.

At the dinner table that evening, a relative sent a braised goose.

Lu Zhou: "…"

Xiao Yi: "…"

Xiao Yi thought, is this to surprise Lu Zhou? Xiao's mother didn't know what had happened during the day and kept urging them to eat more.

The next day, Lu Zhou dragged Xiao Yi down again for a run. Apparently, he had recovered from the trauma of the geese. This time, they took a detour through the park. The air around Jingmen was quite good, and the entire central China region, including Shiyan, Wudang, Shennongjia, and other areas, was known as the "lungs of China." Lu Zhou hadn't exercised outdoors for a long time. That day, they also rented a badminton court.

*

On New Year's Eve, firecrackers resounded everywhere. Xiao Yi's family started cooking from early in the morning, busy the whole day. Xiao's mother, knowing that they would go back on the third day, kept encouraging them to eat more.

Xiao Yi refused several times, but in the end, he had to do as she wanted.

Xiao Yi and Xiao Qiang dealt with two chickens, and Lu Zhou personally went to the kitchen to help. After a whole day of busyness, they had various dishes such as stewed lotus root with preserved duck, chicken soup, fried fish nuggets, braised lamb, and red-cooked crucian carp. There were eight meat dishes, lotus root with pickles, stir-fried vegetable shoots, and four small dishes. Xiao Qiang's girlfriend, who was on duty on the second day of the New Year and couldn't go home, also came.

Xiao Qiang repeatedly reminded his girlfriend not to mention the fact that there was a celebrity in the family. His girlfriend was stunned for a while but calmed down slightly when Lu Zhou kindly spoke to her.

With all the cold dishes served, the family of six raised their glasses and had a lively New Year's Eve dinner.

Xiao Qiang's girlfriend served Xiao Qiang with vegetables. Xiao Qiang immediately said, "I'll do it myself. You eat more." Xiao Yi was busy serving Lu Zhou. Lu Zhou felt a bit embarrassed and patted Xiao Yi's head, indicating that he should eat and not worry about him.

Lu Zhou cracked a joke, and the whole table burst into laughter. Seeing Lu Zhou getting a bit drunk from drinking, Xiao Yi thought that taking him home was the right decision.

After the family reunion dinner, Xiao Qiang carried a bunch of firecrackers. The four young people went downstairs and set off fireworks in the community.

"For years, fireworks and firecrackers have been prohibited!" Lu Zhou shouted in Xiao Yi's ear.

"What?!" Xiao Yi shouted at Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou smiled, and Xiao Yi was quite brave. He directly used a lighter to ignite the firecracker. Lu Zhou immediately shouted, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Lu Zhou pulled Xiao Yi back, with one arm around him and the other reaching out far, striking a martial arts pose, and clicking the lighter.

Xiao Yi: "…"

The firecrackers made a deafening noise. Xiao Yi asked, "When was the last time you watched fireworks?"

"In Dubai!" Lu Zhou laughed and shouted.

"Are the fireworks in Dubai better than this?" Xiao Yi laughed and asked.

Lu Zhou nodded and shook his head at the same time.

After watching the Spring Festival Gala, everyone exchanged New Year's greetings. Xiao's father even jokingly said, "Lu, when will you participate in the Spring Festival Gala?"

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "Those of us in TV dramas usually don't get invited. Xiao Yi is trying his best, maybe in the future."

Xiao Yi made an exaggerated face, thinking, ‘Are you kidding me?’

That night, Lu Zhou's phone kept ringing with New Year's greetings. Xiao Yi sent New Year's greetings one by one on WeChat. He also called Du Ma, went to bed early, and found a red envelope under his pillow, with "Lu" written on the surface.

There was also Lu Zhou's signature on the back, along with a signed photo of Lu Zhou and a red envelope with two thousand yuan.

In the living room.

"Here, Uncle Xiao," Lu Zhou said.

"Hey, Xiao Lu, there's no need for this!"

"It's for the elders. It's customary as a token of my appreciation."

Xiao Yi looked up and saw Lu Zhou giving red envelopes to his parents and also giving one to Xiao Qiang, saying, "Work hard and make money."

"Thank you, Zhou ge!" Xiao Qiang happily shouted.

Xiao Yi sat on the bed, suddenly feeling a bit melancholic. He thought that if he ever became famous one day, he must repay Lu Zhou properly.

However, in this world, some relationships can only go from high to low, like the surging river that flows forever from west to east. Some people, like Lu Zhou and Du Ma, Xiao Yi might never be able to reach their level in his lifetime. He could only look up to them, be moved by them, and continue looking up and being moved.

‘Well, that's how it is. Happy New Year, Zhou ge,’ Xiao Yi thought to himself, feeling a bit resigned.

 

Translator : DarNan