"I thought it was you!"
Kiyono’s mother looked at Dubian Che’s flushed ears and asked curiously,
"What happened to your ears, Mr. Dubian?"
"It’s nothing, just slept in a bad position."
"Then why are you rubbing your face?" Mrs. Jiutiao asked.
"My face is also numb."
"What kind of sleeping position causes that?" Both mothers showed a curious look.
Kiyono Lin turned her face away, revealing the snowy white shoulders of her Christmas costume, and gently shook, trying to hold back her laughter.
Jiutiao Meijie glanced at her and huffed.
"Alright, let’s start the Christmas party!"
Kiyono’s mother pressed a switch, and the chandelier-like lights overhead went out, leaving the living room pitch black except for the area near the fireplace.
But in the next moment, the decorations on the ten-meter-high Christmas tree lit up to the tune of "Jingle Bells."
Though not bright, the glow was enough to see around and filled the living room.
Under the mothers’ urging, each of the five people held a party popper.
Mrs. Jiutiao counted, "One, two, three!"
Everyone pulled their party poppers.
After popping the party poppers, the five of them downed a glass of champagne—even though three of them were under the legal drinking age.
"Alright, let’s exchange gifts now!" Mrs. Jiutiao put down her glass and said eagerly, "Mr. Dubian, I’ve prepared a very nice gift for you."
"Are we exchanging directly?" Dubian Che asked.
"Of course not. I’d love for you to receive it, but we must follow the rules." Mrs. Jiutiao clapped her hands together, with her bosom heaving with excitement.
Dubian Che looked away, deciding not to watch her.
"I’ve had someone prepare everything." Kiyono’s mother rang a bell, and a maid came over and bowed to everyone.
Dubian Che looked at this scene with curiosity.
Kiyono’s mother explained,
"Yingzhi will sing a Christmas song later, and we’ll pass around each other’s gifts clockwise. When Yingzhi stops, the present in hand will be your Christmas gift."
"What if you get your own?" Kiyono Lin asked.
"Then keep going. Understood?" Kiyono’s mother looked at the three young people.
"Let’s start!" Dubian Che took out the Christmas gift he had prepared, "I can hardly wait!"
"It’s just like you to be impatient, Mr. Dubian, but mommy doesn’t mind." Kiyono’s mother said.
"Mr. Dubian is my son, you know!" Mrs. Jiutiao reminded.
"He’s our son." After Kiyono’s mother said this with a smile, she turned to the waiting maid, "Yingzhi, we’re in your hands."
The maid named Yingzhi started singing "Jingle Bells" softly and sweetly.
『Jingle bells jingle bells』
『Oh what fun it is to ride』
Both beautiful young ladies wore expressions of rejection, while the two aunts were in high spirits, not only singing along but also stealing glances at what gifts others held, with the look of someone peeking at another’s hand in a game.
Women always say men are children who never grow up, claiming they themselves are forever young girls.
Yingzhi sang to "we’re riding on a sleigh" and then stopped.
"Did anyone get their own present?" Kiyono’s mother asked.
"No." Dubian Che answered.
"Neither did I." Kiyono Lin said.
"Same here." Jiutiao Meijie hadn’t received hers either.
"It’s the same for us, let’s start unwrapping the gifts. Mr. Dubian, would you like to start?"
Dubian Che received an immensely ugly package from Kiyono Lin.
The second was Jiutiao Meijie; she received Kiyono’s mother’s Christmas gift, a white, wide-brimmed sun hat.
"Let’s go on vacation to New Zealand this winter." Just as Dubian Che wondered why one would give a sun hat in winter, Kiyono’s mother suggested.
"Okay." Jiutiao Meijie nodded her head, "Thank you, aunty."
The third was Kiyono Lin, receiving Mrs. Jiutiao’s Christmas gift.
"This is something special." Mrs. Jiutiao commented as Kiyono Lin opened her gift.
Afterward, Kiyono Lin took out a red box the size of a cigarette pack, labeled ’0.01’ from an elegantly wrapped box.
"I prepared this for Dubian, considering he’s still young." Mrs. Jiutiao chuckled.
"Mrs. Jiutiao..." Kiyono Lin held the box between her fingertips, leaning her forehead against it, her face towards the table, with her tone full of resignation.
"Don’t be mad. Lin and Mr. Dubian can just swap, right?" Mrs. Jiutiao suggested like it was a great idea.
"The one in my hands is Kiyono’s Christmas gift." Dubian Che lifted the hideously ugly designer bag he held.
"Then Meijie and Lin will have to exchange." Mrs. Jiutiao looked at her daughter.
Meijie Jiutiao took a deep, resigned breath, placed the white sun hat on the table, and reached for the ’0.01’ box.
Kiyono Lin did not stop her, whether out of consent or shock.
Meijie Jiutiao’s slender, snow-white hand was in stark contrast to the red box, and Dubian Che couldn’t help but sneak a peek.
Meijie Jiutiao noticed his gaze and tossed the box onto his lap:
"Be moderate, okay?" Mrs. Jiutiao watched them both warmly.