Chapter 172: New Year's Eve

Su Chen was lost in thought, his hands unconsciously flipping through the items on the desk. When he snapped back to reality, he realized he was holding his own music score notebook.

He flipped through it briefly, his gaze stopping on the song "Wishing You Prosperity and Wealth."

A few days ago, Lu Yuanqing had called to say that "Wishing You Prosperity and Wealth" had finished rehearsals with fantastic results!

Moreover, the chief director had given the song exceptionally high praise.

What surprised Su Chen the most was that this song had actually been scheduled as the opening act of the Spring Festival Gala.

Serving as the grand curtain-raiser, the significance of this placement went without saying.

At this thought, the corners of his mouth suddenly curled upward, as if he could already envision the agony of countless people being dominated by "Wishing You Prosperity and Wealth" echoing down every street and alley.

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A few days later, New Year's Eve arrived as scheduled.

In the kitchen, the elderly couple was busy preparing the reunion dinner.

Meanwhile, Su Chen and Tang Jiayi were curled up on the sofa watching television.

Tang Jiayi had returned a day earlier than expected, looking rather travel-worn upon her arrival.

Having not seen her for several months, she seemed much more mature, and she no longer fluttered around calling him "Brother Su Chen" nonstop.

When Su Chen asked about her intensive training in the imperial capital, she brushed it off with a few vague words.

Judging by her demeanor, however, she seemed to have been very busy and exhausted.

"You two, hurry up and wash your hands for dinner!"

Seeing that the two of them showed no reaction, Wu Xiuhua raised her voice.

"Hurry up! Watch TV after you eat!"

Only then did the two of them slowly drift from the sofa toward the dining table.

At the dining table, a lavish spread of food had been prepared, with the four of them making over a dozen dishes.

Tang Weidong even brought out the bottle of Maotai that Su Chen had brought.

"Xiao Chen, come, come, come! You and I, the two of us, are going to have a little drink!"

"You never teach the child anything good, always messing around with these old habits!"

That said, after Wu Xiuhua finished speaking, she didn't actually stop him. Since it was the New Year, having a little wine added to the festive mood.

The family ate and chatted, mostly about trivial everyday matters.

Aside from asking about Su Chen's work, they talked more about what had happened in a certain relative's family or how someone's friend's child had made something of themselves.

It wasn't until the wine had gone around three times and the meal was nearly finished that Tang Weidong put down his chopsticks and said casually,

"Xiao Chen has been working away from home for over half a year now. Have you met any young ladies you fancy?"

The moment Su Chen heard this, his heart tightened—the familiar routine had arrived.

"Ha-ha, not yet..."

He chuckled dryly in response, then cast a look of SOS toward Wu Xiuhua.

However, Wu Xiuhua simply picked up her chopsticks to pick at some food, pretending not to see it.

Tang Weidong weighed his words for a moment and slowly continued,

"Here is the thing. This afternoon when I went out, I ran into Old Li from the residential complex, and he asked about how you were doing."

"He said he has a distant niece about your age who looks very nice. She graduated with a master's degree and currently works in a hospital."

"He asked if you'd be interested in meeting her and giving it a try!"

Before he could finish, Tang Jiayi, sitting nearby, furrowed her brow.

"Can you guys stop pulling this kind of nonsense every single day!"

"What era is this, still arranging blind dates? Xiao Chen-ge isn't like he can't find a girlfriend on his own!"

Since returning this time, Tang Jiayi had upgraded "Brother Su Chen" to "Xiao Chen-ge."

"What do you know? Focus on eating your food!"

Seeing Tang Jiayi challenging his authority, Tang Weidong immediately pulled a long face.

Seeing this, Su Chen hurriedly intervened.

"Uncle Tang, I just started working not long ago, and I don't have any plans in that department yet!"

Tang Weidong hesitated for a moment, but continued to persuade him.

"You aren't that young anymore. Back in our generation, people your age already had children."

"Listen to me, making plans early is never wrong!"

"It's not like you're getting married right this second, you can just date and see how it goes!"

A wave of helplessness washed over Su Chen. Judging by the situation, it was obvious that Tang Weidong and Wu Xiuhua had coordinated beforehand.

Otherwise, Wu Xiuhua wouldn't have sat there in complete silence.

"Think about it, Old Su passed away early, and now you're the only one left at home. If you had someone..."

Before he could even finish his sentence, there was a loud *bang*.

Tang Jiayi slammed her chopsticks heavily onto the table, startling everyone.

"How many times have you been told, yet you keep going on and on!"

"Can't people look for a partner on their own? Do you need to play matchmaker?"

Tang Jiayi's reaction made Tang Weidong leap to his feet instantly.

"Have you lost your mind? Grown wings just because you took a trip outside, is that it?"

"Now you've even learned to talk back?"

With that, he rolled up his sleeves as if preparing to discipline Tang Jiayi.

Wu Xiuhua hurriedly grabbed him, and Su Chen jumped up to stop him as well.

Tang Jiayi let out a huff, stood up, retreated to her room, and slammed the door shut with a loud *bang*.

"Don't hold me back, see if I don't teach her a lesson. When did she get such a stubborn temper!"

"She learned it from you!"

Wu Xiuhua's single remark made Tang Weidong roll his eyes.

"I'm nothing like that, completely lacking manners!"

Though he argued verbally, the movements of his hands stopped.

"Uncle Tang, please don't trouble yourself over this. I truly have no plans for that right now."

"When I do, I will definitely let you know, and then you can help introduce someone. How does that sound?"

Hearing Su Chen say this, Tang Weidong hesitated for a while, then let out a helpless sigh.

"Fine then! Have it your way!"

"But it's not Uncle Tang nagging you; you really ought to start considering this matter."

Su Chen quickly agreed.

After pacifying the elderly couple, Su Chen walked over to Tang Jiayi's room.

He found Tang Jiayi sitting sullenly at her desk, clear tear tracks visible on her face.

"Look at you, you've cried so much you look like a little kitten!"

Seeing that she didn't reply, Su Chen wasn't embarrassed at all.

"What's this? Did you really turn out like Uncle Tang said—went to the big city for a bit and your temper grew right along with it?"

"No I didn't!"

Tang Jiayi reached out and rubbed the tears from her face in a flustered swipe.

"They don't understand anything and just love meddling in other people's business!"

Then, she added tentatively,

"With all those beauties in the entertainment industry, you'd never look down on ordinary girls like that anyway!"

Su Chen gave an amused smile.

"Who told you I'd look down on them?"

"Aren't I just an ordinary person myself?"

Tang Jiayi pouted and muttered under her breath,

"Then go on your blind date, go ahead!"

Su Chen shook his head helplessly and only managed to coax Tang Jiayi into a better mood after a great deal of effort.

Returning to the living room, Tang Jiayi shot Tang Weidong one last resentful glare.

It made Tang Weidong so angry he felt like smoke was coming out of his seven orifices.

Yet, he knew his precious daughter better than anyone.

She was just throwing a minor temper tantrum, and she'd be fine in a little while.

After the meal, the group helped Wu Xiuhua clean up the dining table and then gathered in the living room sofa area, waiting to watch this year's Spring Festival Gala.

At exactly 20:00 in the evening, China Central Television Channel 1 kicked off the annual grand Spring Festival Gala.