vrcanaries Chapter 213 The New Year is almost here
Chapter 213 The New Year is almost here
It's getting cold.
It's not the kind of cold that gradually gets colder; it's the kind of cold where you were wearing a hoodie outside yesterday, but today you have to dig your down jacket out of the deepest part of the closet.
The air was filled with the smell of firecrackers, not from any particular household, but a faint, sulfurous smell that drifted in from afar, carried on the wind.
The Lunar New Year is almost here again.
Song Huan stood in front of the mirror in the room, put on a red hoodie, then took it off, changed into a navy blue jacket, looked at it, and then took it off again.
Zhang Xuejuan's voice came from the living room, high-pitched and bright.
"Hurry up! Little Cloud has been waiting for you for ages!"
Then came Xiao Yunqing's voice, gentle and soft, like brewed tea leaves.
"It's alright, Auntie. I'm just asking him to go for a stroll."
"It's good to go out for a walk," Zhang Xuejuan said with a smile. "Otherwise, he stays at home all day, like a pig."
Song Huan heard this in the room, twitched the corner of her mouth, put on the navy blue coat, and zipped it up.
In the living room, Zhang Xuejuan held Xiao Yunqing's hand and sat on the sofa.
She looked at the girl in front of her and liked her more and more.
Xiao Yunqing was wearing a cream-colored woolen coat and a light gray scarf that was wrapped around her neck and hung down.
Her hair was down, draped over her shoulders, with the ends slightly curled.
She has a delicate, oval face with fair skin, big eyes, and two shallow dimples when she smiles.
Zhang Xuejuan thought to herself, "How wonderful it would be if she were my daughter-in-law."
She had watched Xiao Yunqing grow up, from kindergarten to now, and knew him inside and out, and he had a good temper.
If they really get married in the future, there won't be any more talk of mother-in-law/daughter-in-law conflicts.
Song Huan came out of the room, wearing the new clothes that Zhang Xuejuan had bought for her.
He wore a navy blue coat over a light gray sweater, with a section of the neckline peeking out.
The pants are black, and the shoes are white.
Zhang Xuejuan stood up, walked up to him, straightened his collar, and patted the dust off his shoulders.
"Yes, you look much more energetic this way."
Xiao Yunqing also came over, tilted her head to look, and then flattered him earnestly.
"Did Aunt Zhang buy these clothes? Auntie has such good taste, she bought such beautiful clothes!"
Zhang Xuejuan grinned from ear to ear, "Right? Haha, I think it looks good too."
Song Huan's lips twitched slightly as she looked down at her outfit.
Navy blue coat, light gray sweater, black pants, white shoes.
They are colorful and stacked together like a moving Christmas tree.
Is this really... good-looking?
He didn't say anything, changed his shoes, opened the door, and went out.
"Auntie, let's go!"
Xiao Yunqing followed behind, waved to Zhang Xuejuan, and closed the door.
The pedestrian street is not far from Song Huan's home, about a 20-minute walk.
The sound was already drifting over before we even reached the street corner.
The sounds of people, music, and vendors hawking their wares mingled together, buzzing like a pot of boiling water.
As you walk in, you see stalls lined up on both sides, one after another, all brightly colored.
Lanterns were being sold; red, yellow, and pink lanterns hung in a row, their tassels swaying in the wind.
The ground was covered with stalls selling Spring Festival couplets, some with gold characters and others with black characters, each bearing auspicious words.
The candied hawthorns were stuck on straw sticks, their bright red color reflecting the sunlight.
There were also vendors selling all sorts of small toys—some that light up, some that make noise, and some that run. One vendor was demonstrating one, and a group of children were gathered around him.
Xiao Yunqing's eyes weren't enough to take it all in; she looked around frantically, her neck turning like a rattle drum.
She tugged at Song Huan's sleeve, pulling it left and right.
"Wow, Song Huan, look at this!"
Song Huan stumbled as she was being pulled along.
She stopped in front of a stall.
Two hats were hanging on the stall, tiger-head hats.
It has a red base, yellow trim, and two round tiger ears on the brim, with white fur inside the ears.
Its eyes are big, black, and made of knitted yarn, sparkling brightly.
The character "王" (king) was embroidered on its forehead in gold thread, crooked and uneven, but it looked festive.
There was also a ring of white down under the brim, soft and fluffy, like a tiger's cheeks.
Song Huan glanced at it and nodded.
This hat is really nice.
The stall owner was a young woman, wearing an old scarf, and with skillful fingers, she was crocheting a new one.
There was a stroller next to it, and a little girl, about one or two years old, was lying in it. She was wearing a thin floral cotton-padded jacket, and her face was a little red from the cold wind.
She neither cried nor made a fuss; she opened her big eyes and watched her mother selling things.
Xiao Yunqing looked at the little girl, then at the two hats.
She asked about the price.
"Fifteen yuan a hat," the woman said.
Without saying a word, Xiao Yunqing took out thirty yuan from his pocket and handed it over.
Two.
The stall owner took the money, took two hats off the shelf, and handed them to her.
Xiao Yunqing held one in each hand, looked at it in front of her, and smiled happily, her eyes curving into crescents.
"come over."
She waved to Song Huan.
Song Huan walked over.
"bend over."
Song Huan bent down.
Xiao Yunqing tiptoed and placed a tiger-head hat on his head.
The white down on the brim of his hat brushed against his forehead, feeling soft and fluffy.
The tiger's two ears stood upright on its head, swaying in the wind.
She took a step back, tilted her head to look, and her eyes sparkled.
"It's really beautiful!"
Song Huan stood up straight and reached out to touch the hat on her head; it was fluffy and warm.
"Really?"
He couldn't see himself, but judging from her expression, she probably wasn't bad-looking.
"Of course it's true." Xiao Yunqing handed him another hat, then turned around and untied her ponytail.
With a rubber band in her mouth and her fingers threading through her hair a couple of times, her neat, long hair fell down, draped over her shoulders, jet black and shiny, with a few strands blowing in the wind.
She turned to look at Song Huan, "Your turn, put it on me."
Song Huan took the hat and walked up to her.
The tiger-head hat is one size fits all, but adults' head circumferences are different from children's, so the elastic band at the back of the brim needs to be adjusted.
He opened the hat and slowly, bit by bit, put it on her head.
The brim of the hat was just above the eyebrows, and the ears were positioned directly above the ears.
White fur clung to her cheeks, contrasting with her fair skin, making her look like a little tiger crouching in the snow.
He tugged at the elastic band, tightening it and then loosening it again.
He raised the brim of his hat up a little, then pressed it down a little.
Xiao Yunqing stood there motionless, her big eyes blinking as she watched him carefully adjust his hat.
His fingers touched her ear; it was cool, and she flinched.
Her heart beat a little faster, and her face flushed slightly.
"alright."
Song Huan clapped her hands and took a step back.
Xiao Yunqing tilted her head, causing the tiger ears on her head to tilt as well. "How is it? Does it look good?"
Song Huan looked at the person in front of her. Underneath the tiger-head hat was a fair face, big eyes, shallow dimples, and hair that was draped over his shoulders and blown a little by the wind.
He nodded. "It looks good."
Xiao Yunqing smiled, her eyes curving into crescents and her dimples deepening.
She reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his coat, her fingers gripping the cuff tightly but not too tightly.
"Let's go, let's go take a look ahead."
Song Huan was pulled forward by her.
Two people wearing tiger-head hats, one on the left and one on the right, with the tiger ears swaying in the wind.
Passersby glanced at it a couple more times, someone laughed, and said something to the person next to them.
Xiao Yunqing didn't care. She walked ahead with light steps, the ears on her hat bobbing up and down.
Song Huan followed behind, hands in her pockets, smiling.