Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

The year-end was fast approaching.

Whether it was Shang Hexing in Bai City or Wen Zhi in Laihai City, both were exceptionally busy.

Half a month had passed since their last farewell.

On this day, after Wen Zhi finished preparing to book a ticket back to Bai City, she unexpectedly received a video call from Licheng just before leaving work.

"Grandpa."

When Wen Zhi called out "Grandpa," her tone was particularly natural, and she had specifically found the corner of her desk where the lighting was best to take the call.

In the video, the old man looked hale and hearty.

Compared to their last video call, the old man looked much, much better.

However, the last time was shortly after Wen Zhi and Shang Hexing returned from Licheng. They had contacted each other occasionally, but only by phone, so this was only the second video call. That’s why Wen Zhi was so surprised when she saw the screen indicating an incoming video call.

"You’re still not off work this late?" The old man’s face was full of concern in the video.

Adjusting her phone’s angle, Wen Zhi said to the old man in the video, "I just finished a meeting and was about to get off work when your video call came in."

The old man chuckled, "Just caught you at the right time."

"Indeed." Wen Zhi replied with a smile.

Since mending her relationship with her grandfather, they had been in contact more frequently.

Whether it was a phone call or video chat, Wen Zhi was no longer as reserved as before. She fixed her phone in place, continued to tidy up the documents on her desk, and asked, "Have you had dinner, Grandpa?"

"Not yet, did you forget? Our times are different," the old man replied, then gestured to the person holding the phone, "Show her the weather here."

As the camera moved, Wen Zhi also stopped her movements and focused intently on the images on her screen.

The sunset in Licheng came late; in the summer it would not get dark until after ten o’clock, and in the winter the darkness fell a bit earlier, usually between eight and nine o’clock. But at this time, the night had already fallen in Laihai City.

"Look, isn’t it still bright here?"

At the same time, the camera swung back, and the affable old man’s face reappeared in the video.

"It’s already dark in Laihai City, you see." Wen Zhi also turned her phone’s camera to show her grandfather in Licheng the night sky of Laihai City.

The building was backlit by Pearl, and as night fell, the entire bustling CBD gleamed like a silver-wrapped galaxy.

The old man stared at the screen for a while; after the camera was turned back, Wen Zhi’s face appeared on the screen, then the old man asked, "Are you used to being apart from Hexing?"

Wen Zhi pushed aside the things she was organizing and focused on chatting with her grandfather, "I’m pretty used to it. He often comes, and I often go back; I guess this doesn’t really count as a long-distance relationship."

The old man said with a smile, "You might be used to it, but I think Hexing isn’t. He seems to only be at ease when you’re by his side at all times."

Suppressing the corners of her lips that wanted to rise, Wen Zhi replied, "Grandpa, stop teasing."

The old man emphasized, "I’m not teasing, it’s the truth. Just before calling you, I was chatting with Hexing, and out of everything he said, nine out of ten sentences were about you."

Now Wen Zhi couldn’t suppress the corners of her mouth, which immediately turned upwards.

In fact, Wen Zhi had heard this same statement from Nian Xun a couple of days ago, almost word for word.

At the time, she took it as Nian Xun’s jest and even felt that Nian Xun’s concerns were too broad; now, hearing it again from her grandfather, she realized that everyone could see how clingy Shang Hexing was!

The old man was also bursting with joy. After having his laugh, he began to discuss a serious matter, "Little girl, I want to tell you something, I won’t be coming back for the New Year."

Wen Zhi’s smile faded suddenly upon hearing the old man say he wouldn’t be coming back for the New Year, "Ah? Why not? Do you have other arrangements, Grandpa?"

She quickly picked up her phone from the stand, her face enlarging on the screen, "I had already arranged with Shang Hexing that we would come together to pick you up."

"No need to come pick me up," the old master waved his hand from the other side of the video, "I’ll be back before the fifteenth."

Wen Zhi suddenly thought of something.

Before she could speak, she heard the elderly man in the video say, "This year, I’ll spend New Year’s with your grandmother."

Wen Zhi immediately understood.

When mentioning the late old lady, the old master’s expression darkened for an instant, and the light in his eyes visibly faded.

The old master muttered, "It has been many years since I last spent New Year’s with her."

Wen Zhi gently offered comfort, "Stay there, grandmother will definitely be very happy."

The old master regained his composure, and then he mentioned another matter, "Additionally, I get invited to the Spring Festival Gala every year, and I always attend, but I can’t make it this year, so you and Hexing should go on my behalf."

Wen Zhi blinked, instinctively asking, "Can I... really go?"

"Why not!"

The old master immediately set his face in a stern expression, his tone becoming serious, "You are whom Han Qianjiang personally recognized as the prospective bride of the family, your wedding with Hexing is on the fifteenth of the first lunar month, by then the public will know about you, so you should confidently go with Hexing."

A warmth spread through Wen Zhi, and she promised, "All right."

Hearing her agreement, the old master was happy, his face brimming with smiles, "Then it’s settled. You focus on your work in Laihai City, and don’t worry about the tedious matters surrounding the wedding, there will be plenty of people to handle that."

Wen Zhi felt a surge of emotion.

Although the old man was in Licheng, hands off all matters, with her impending wedding to Shang Hexing drawing near, he still put a lot of thought into it, explaining everything in great detail.

"Also...," the old master’s voice paused for a moment, and when he looked at the video again, his face showed regret, "the scale of your wedding with Hexing cannot be too large, I’m afraid that might be a bit hard for you."

Wen Zhi was aware of this.

She quickly said, "I understand all of that."

The old master sighed, "I’ve put you out."

"It’s not a burden, even without special reasons, I would still prefer a wedding with only family and friends. Simplicity is more beautiful," Wen Zhi spoke from her heart.

Given Shang Hexing’s unique status, naturally, a grand wedding would not be suitable as an overly extravagant and high-profile wedding could be detrimental to his position.

Shang Hexing had also expressed his guilt to Wen Zhi many times for not being able to give her a grand wedding.

But Wen Zhi never cared about the scale of the wedding or its grandeur.

To her, too much is as bad as not enough; a simple, ordinary wedding is best.

Once the old master became aware of Wen Zhi’s feelings, he began to blame himself, "If I had agreed to your relationship earlier, it might have been a bit more lively."

Wen Zhi smiled warmly.

After ending the video call, Wen Zhi saw that Shang Hexing had sent her a WeChat message; he had booked a plane ticket to Laihai City and was already on his way.

Grinning like a fool while holding her phone, Wen Zhi thought, surely this was a case of great minds thinking alike; just as she was about to book a ticket to Bai City, he was on his way.

The Spring Festival was drawing near.

In past years, the old master would be invited to the Spring Festival Gala and would always be there at the VIP seats, accompanied by several descendants of the Han Family.

This year at the Spring Festival Gala, it would be just Wen Zhi and Shang Hexing attending together.

The CCTV cameras repeatedly swept over the audience and the VIP seats.