If there is any New Year's Eve dinner in this world that is more tasteless than the swallow-finned abalone delivered by the hotel.
Maybe it’s the New Year’s Eve dinner in a foreign country.
Grilled glutinous rice bran, fried fish, eel, cockles, jellyfish head, white chopped chicken, braised pork, fried shrimp in oil, grass ring, sweet and sour short ribs, lard eight-treasure rice, family portrait, egg dumplings, spring rolls, rice dumplings stuffed with wine...
These sweet Shanghainese dishes, despite the excellent cooking techniques, are spread all over the round table.
But eating it in Xuan Ye's mouth is far less enjoyable than the Qian family.
To be honest, it's not even as delicious as when she used to have a simple meal of sticky bean buns dipped in sugar or pickles from her mother's home in the capital.
The only thing my mother can make, "sauerkraut stuffed dumplings", is the delicacy that she longs for now.
Because this is no longer just a matter of taste habits developed since childhood.
It is also the emotional rebound caused by the feeling of missing family members even more during the festive season, and the loneliness of being dependent on others.
But what can be done?
Not to mention that it was her own active choice to leave Beijing and come to Shanghai.
Even if she went back to celebrate the New Year or stayed in the capital, her home would be the same as if she had no home at all. Most of the time she would only have her nanny, Aunt Zhou, to accompany her.
Because of her special family attributes, it is difficult for her to enjoy the happiness of being reunited at home like ordinary people's children.
There is no doubt that her father, as the minister of the "General Logistics Department", is the busiest at this time.
Many troops across the country need him to visit and inspect.
Even my mother, as the minister's wife, has to accompany me.
For them, celebrating the New Year has always been a hard job, and most of them have to be spent on military planes flying to the border.
No matter what, I have to go to the second or third grade of junior high school to end this kind of running around.
But after returning to Beijing, he would continue to attend various receptions and cocktail parties, so where would he have time to spend with her?
Often she can only satisfy her gluttony with the specialties she brings back from various places.
As for her brothers, almost all of them are ambitious political animals.
Once you leave the house, you don't want to come back.
Regardless of whether one has a family or not, there has never been much interest in getting together to celebrate the New Year.
Even when she came back once in a while, the conversation was limited to discussing national affairs and work, making it impossible for her to interrupt even if she wanted to.
What's more, they won't just stay at home like this.
I must put my time and energy into visiting those relatives and friends in high positions in the Ye family.
Speaking of which, they still remember her as their little sister.
It is not easy to send her all kinds of food, toys, clothing and daily necessities from all over the country.
In fact, if it looks like this, Yang Weifan is more like her brother.
Since she came to Shanghai, their contact has not been interrupted.
Yang Weifan not only sent her a lot of things from the capital, but also often called or wrote to ask about her current situation, chat with her about daily life, and talk about the changes in the capital circle.
Even whenever I came to Shanghai for a business trip, no matter how busy I was at work, I would always find time to meet her and have a meal together.
It's a pity that they can't completely speak freely between themselves.
Because Zhou Manna and Hong Yanwu are the intersection of their friendships, if anyone accidentally mentions either of them.
It is still very embarrassing and hurtful, and the pleasure and ease of getting along with each other will be greatly compromised.
But then again, even so, Yang Weifan's friendship has brought her a lot of benefits.
Because Shanghai is the former territory of the Yang family, the Yang family has much more influence here than the Ye family.
What's more, Yang Weifan himself is also a nationally renowned musical genius, attracting much attention wherever he goes.
From a certain perspective, fame can actually be equated with wealth and power.
This naturally made her proud.
Once many people discovered that she was getting close to Yang Weifan, they would look high at her and take special care of her.
She even decisively rejected the pursuit of Qian Cheng, the eldest son of the Qian family, which made Qian Bojun and his wife somewhat unhappy.
They did not neglect her easily. Instead, they heated the water (note: heating) that was rarely used for her.
It cannot but be said that there are factors in this regard at play.
In addition, being alone outside is indeed helpful for a person to mature.
For example, after she came to Shanghai, she not only learned to take care of herself, she even understood many contents in "Dream of Red Mansions" that she didn't understand before.
So, like Lin Daiyu who lived in the Jia family, she understood the need to dress lightly, be humble and keep a low profile.
She began to pay attention not to be in the limelight when it came to material enjoyment.
When getting along with others, we should try our best to be as light as possible and no longer show our personal opinions in a flashy manner.
Like this year, she gave the fur coat sent by her eldest brother in the Northeast to Qian Sisi, and she only wore the wool coat given by her third brother.
Then I used the foreign exchange coupons to go to the Friendship Store and buy some foreign goods for Qian Bojun and his wife as New Year gifts.
Finally, he helped Qian Cheng, who was working on the approval process, introduce several connections in Beijing.
It was precisely with this kind of psychological growth that she truly stabilized her position in the Qian family.
At the same time, she also began to stand out at work and have a place.
She is no longer the role she was in when she first entered the court, where she was confused in interpersonal relationships and always had to be arranged for nepotism behind her back.
By relying on the most important secrets in interpersonal communication - giving face and being knowledgeable, she has become a person that her colleagues can't help but get close to, and they can envy but not be jealous of her.
It's just that this change of sophistication and understanding of others is really not what she originally imagined for her future.
Sometimes it even causes her some extra troubles.
Take this New Year's Eve for example. After the New Year's Eve dinner, it would be difficult for her to refuse the invitation from brother and sister Qian Cheng and Qian Sisi.
I had to pretend to be happy and go to the "Huhai Tower" with them to attend the dance.
Otherwise, this important day will not only ruin other people's interest and hurt their face, but even Qian Bojun and his wife may think too much about it.
But to be honest, she really regretted taking this trip.
Because even though "Huhai Tower" is the second tallest building in Shanghai, the conditions of the ballroom are quite good.
Not only are there countless drinks and snacks, but the lighting, sound and wooden floors are also all high-end.
There are even some well-known Shanghai-based film actors and blond foreigners who can be seen on site.
But a group of men and women were swaying their buttocks and shaking their hips amidst the dazzling lights and enthusiastic music, like a group of demons dancing wildly.
This kind of scene was really unacceptable to Xuan Ye, who liked purity, and it shocked her greatly.
I bet the dances being performed and the music being played here are the disco that has just become popular due to the Indian movie "Disco Star".
So as soon as she entered the stage, Xuan Ye quickly excused herself because she felt unwell and sat down in her seat.
I asked for a bottle of drink, but refused to get off the stage and dance.
And bigger troubles are yet to come.
Because Qian Cheng and Qian Sisi, brothers and sisters, were surrounded by a group of their friends as soon as they entered the dance floor.
Everyone stared at Xuan Ye sitting in their seats, asking them for details about her.
"Hey, why are you here? I'm punishing you with buying champagne..."
"Go, go, let's get down to business first, okay? Who is the one who came with you? Won't you introduce us?"
"Yes, yes, you invite her over to dance together. I'll buy the champagne, okay?"
Qian Sisi immediately rolled her eyes at them.
"Forget it, let me tell you, don't make any evil plans as soon as possible. She is from the capital, you can't reach her..."
The boys who came up to him immediately reacted with disdain.
"Excuse me, what's so great about the capital? Shanghai is also a municipality directly under the central government. What's more, in terms of economy and foreign style, this place ranks first in the country."
"That's right, you want to say that we two are not good, but we still admit it. But who are we, Chen Yang? His father is the third person in Shanghai, and he himself is a big reporter of "Legal News", and he is good-looking.
She is so sharp that even the daughter of the mayor of the capital is worthy of her."
"That's right, do you want to make a bet? If Xiaoyang takes action, I'm sure to win. To be honest, Chen XX, who acted in the movie, has become a virgin and turned into a woman. Who can escape from our Xiaoyang's tricks?"
This was a bit too much. As a result, Qian Cheng had to stop him.
"Hey, I'm telling you guys, don't do anything idle and ruin my business. This is my future girlfriend, our future sister-in-law. I'm not telling you, don't talk nonsense all day long.
But if you work in the court, be serious, it’s just right for you guys. Besides, they are related to the Yang family, so you all need to think about it yourself..."
This statement worked, and these few were immediately dumbfounded.
But as the saying goes, there can be no waves without wind.
Some people eat hard food but not soft food, and some people eat soft food but not hard food.
Especially for playboys, they often seem to love challenging impossible tasks.
Listen to others talk about the information they got from the Qian brothers and sisters.
That person named Chen Yang, who was in charge of the third government office in Shanghai, actually became interested in Ye Xuan.
He actually didn't even sell Qian Cheng's face.
He took the initiative to walk up to Xuan Ye, pretended to be a gentleman and took out his press card to introduce himself, and actually started chatting with Xuan Ye.
At this time, the eyes of those boys who were holding cigarettes and blowing "Marlboro" and "Good Friends" smoke from their mouths were all bright.
No one cared about the embarrassment of Qian Cheng and Qian Sisi anymore and quickly set up a game to start gambling.
"Hey, hey, hey, win one of the three dances and pay one."
"If you win two dances, you'll pay two for one..."
"Take it away today, pay five for one..."
But no one expected that Chen Yang would come back in just five minutes.
He also picked up his coat from his seat and announced it to everyone in a very solemn manner.
"Stop fucking around. I'm telling you, I'm going to officially start a relationship. You all should be civilized. If anyone dares to say a dirty word, get out of here..."
Following a domineering glare, he turned to stare at the Qian brothers and sisters.
"Sisi, you are not allowed to say a word about my affairs. Do you hear me?"
"And you, Qian Cheng, don't rob me! From now on, this is my girlfriend..."
With that said, he thrust a gold lighter into the stunned Qian Cheng's hand.
Then under everyone's surprised eyes, he walked towards Xuan Ye like a wolf in sheep's clothing.
But the most surprising thing was Qian Cheng's reaction.
Although he was shocked and angry, he opened his mouth for a long time, clenched his hands again and again, but did not really take any action.
For this reason, not to mention others snickering secretly, even Qian Sisi felt an indignant humiliation.