After Zhou Man's arrest, news spread online, and Shen Yin received another wave of attention, gaining many followers. However, she had already seen through the nature of the internet, and none of this mattered to her anymore.
Fame brings scrutiny, and people are quick to tear down those who fall. Only after the Zhou Man incident was resolved did Shen Yin feel some peace.
Xu Xiuhe no longer wanted to stay in the hospital, and Shen Yin supported his decision. They immediately completed the discharge procedures.
After returning to Ziyue Manor, Shen Yin wasn't idle. She constantly sought ways to treat Xu Xiuhe's eyes.
As the year-end approached, it was Shen Yin's first time experiencing a modern New Year celebration. With only three people in their spacious house, the holiday felt particularly quiet.
Fortunately, on the eve of New Year's Eve, Fang Yue called and invited Shen Yin and Xu Xiuhe to spend the holiday with their family of three at Yuelan Manor. Shen Yin thought it would be better to have a lively New Year's celebration, so she agreed.
Early on New Year's Eve, Shen Yin packed their things and called her driver. The family of three, loaded with packages, arrived at Yuelan Manor.
Fang Yue had been waiting for them for a long time.
"Grandma, Happy New Year," said Zhengzheng, dressed festively. Shen Yin had dressed Zhengzheng in a bright red jacket and put a tiger-head hat on him.
"Oh my, where did this little cutie come from?" Fang Yue couldn't stop smiling as she picked up Zhengzheng.
Fang Yue carried Zhengzheng into the house, while Shen Yin led Xu Xiuhe by the hand.
The house was decorated with "Fu" characters everywhere, and New Year paintings were pasted on the window glass. As soon as they entered, they could feel the strong festive atmosphere.
Shen Yin guided Xu Xiuhe to sit on the sofa. After playing with Zhengzheng for a while, Fang Yue also put him next to the sofa.
Zhengzheng seemed to have never experienced such a strong New Year atmosphere before. He was so excited that he ran around everywhere.
Shen Yin and Fang Yue went to the kitchen together to prepare lunch.
"Yin Yin, how are Xiuhe's eyes? Can they still recover?"
Shen Yin shook her head. She had prepared Chinese herbal medicine for Xu Xiuhe, the kind that promotes blood circulation and removes blood stasis, but it didn't seem to have much effect.
"What did the doctor say?"
"The doctor said it might take some more time. We have to wait for the blood clot to dissolve before his vision can recover."
"That's good then. As long as it can recover, it doesn't matter if it takes time. We just worry that..."
Fang Yue didn't finish her sentence. During the New Year, one should say auspicious things for good luck in the coming year.
"Zhou Man has been imprisoned," Fang Yue said to Shen Yin after they finished eating.
"Yes, she has," Shen Yin also felt conflicted about Zhou Man's situation.
"I told you, a woman like that would face karma sooner or later. I wonder who her parents are, how they could raise a perfectly good child to become like this," Fang Yue criticized.
"Mom, her birth mother is Yang Cui, Xu Xiuhe's stepmother."
"What? Doesn't that mean she's related to Xiuhe?" Fang Yue was eating a tangerine, but upon hearing this, the fruit suddenly lost its taste.
"No, no, no. She has no relation to Xiuhe. She's the child of Yang Cui and someone else."
"Does Yang Cui know?"
"Yang Cui doesn't know. Zhou Man and Xu Zhengyang are both morally corrupt. How could Yang Cui possibly know that Zhou Man is her biological daughter?"
"What about Xu Guimin? How is he?"
Fang Yue knew that Xu Guimin had been kept in the hospital by Xu Xiuhe.
"He's still in the hospital. There's nothing seriously wrong with him. He said he dreamed of Xiuhe's mother, who told him not to return to the Xu family house, or she would come to take him away. That's why he asked Xiuhe to save him. He must feel guilty and afraid of Sun Wenting, so he wanted to see Xiuhe and admit his mistakes."
"What a scumbag. He's far worse than your father. Fortunately, Xiuhe didn't take after Xu Guimin."
"I think maybe Yang Cui and her son wanted to harm him, so Xiuhe's mother appeared in his dream. Xiuhe's mother loved that scumbag until her death."
"Love makes people blind, literally," Fang Yue sighed.
"I've prepared the room upstairs for you. You shouldn't go back tonight, it's too late and not safe."
Shen Yin agreed. Ziyue Manor indeed lacked the New Year atmosphere.
In the evening, while watching the Spring Festival Gala, Shen Lv couldn't stop talking. He complained that this program was boring, that person couldn't sing well, this sketch wasn't funny at all, and so on. He criticized everything, saying it was a mess and not attractive at all. The Gala lasted for hours, and he complained the entire time, his mouth never stopping.
Shen Tianzheng finally couldn't take it anymore.
"If you don't like it, don't watch it. No one's forcing you. Have you stopped talking since eight o'clock? Aren't you thirsty? After this New Year, you'll be 30 years old. You're turning 30 and still don't have a partner, yet you have the nerve to critique the Spring Festival Gala."
"Dad, just because I don't have a partner, does that mean I don't have the freedom to comment on the Gala? How can you say that? It's genuinely not good, and now I can't even say so?"
Shen Lv looked indignant.
"Go ahead and talk. When will you be able to talk yourself into getting a partner?"
Hearing this, Shen Lv became upset. Did he not want one? The person he liked was already married, which was painful enough, and now his father was rubbing salt in his wound.
"Oh, Yin Yin, don't you have a friend called Shu Yi? The one who starred in 'Yanxi Biography', that popular and beautiful young actress. Why isn't she performing at the Spring Festival Gala?" Fang Yue asked while cracking sunflower seeds.
"She thought participating in the Gala would be too troublesome. The production team invited her in July, but she declined."
"What a great opportunity. Performing at the Gala is such an honor. Why would she refuse?"
Shen Yin had asked Shu Yi this question before. Shu Yi's answer was that she wanted to spend New Year with her family.
"Maybe she wanted to spend New Year with her parents. She's an only child. If she doesn't go home for New Year, her parents would be alone."
"I see." But Fang Yue seemed to be thinking of something else.
Shu Yi was in the old town district, watching the Spring Festival Gala with her family. From time to time, she shared gossip about the TV performers in their small group chat with Qi Ji and Shen Yin.
She had been in the entertainment industry for quite a few years and knew some inside stories. She wasn't sure about the rumors circulating online, but what she shared was all true gossip.
For example, the male and female leads in the sketch currently playing on TV were actually a couple in real life.
After hearing this, Shen Yin started to observe the subtle interactions between the two on TV.
"After watching so many sketches, this one's acting is somewhat watchable. They look so convincing," Shen Lv started commenting again.
Shen Yin thought of Shu Yi's message and said, "Is there a possibility that they're genuinely expressing their feelings?"
"It's not an act," Xu Xiuhe suddenly interjected.
"How do you know?" Shen Yin asked.
"I've seen them together before."
"Do you know who they are?" Shen Lv inquired. The television report hadn't mentioned their names; the names were only shown in the subtitles. Could his brother-in-law be so skilled as to recognize them just by their voices?
