"Hehe..." With that compliment from her mother, Zhen Yu felt slightly embarrassed. But there were still things that she needed to take care of! After all, it was her idea to open the gaming center, so naturally, she had to make thorough plans and consider everything.
"We also need to handle the mortgage loan before the end of the year. I’ve heard the approval process is quite long, not sure if it’s one or two months, or two to three months."
"I’ll ask about it when I handle it!" Mrs. Zhen was very cooperative. "It’s only January now, even if it takes three months, we’ll make it in time!"
"Mhm!" Zhen Yu nodded and added, "It’s also time to sell our house, please spread the word!"
There was a touch of reluctance in Mrs. Zhen’s gaze as she looked around the living room and sighed, "Alright! Sooner or later we have to sell it! I’ll let Aunt Zhang spread the news."
"After selling the house, we also need to buy furniture like computer desks and chairs in advance. New furniture also has odors that need to dissipate!" Zhen Yu clearly articulated, instructing her mother one thing after another.
"Then, when we sell the house, I must mention to them that we still need to live here until May Day!" Mrs. Zhen expressed her concerns.
"Mhm, that shouldn’t be a problem. If we can sell it in March, it’s just delaying moving out by two months." Zhen Yu suddenly had an idea: "If we hand over the house by May Day, we can throw in the furniture for free! Since we can’t move them anyway, I bet most people would agree!"
"What? Don’t want the furniture anymore?" Mrs. Zhen was startled and immediately objected, "Why can’t we move them? Just hire a vehicle! The modular wardrobe in your room cost quite a bit when we bought it!"
"Mom!" Zhen Yu laughed, "That was years ago! Not to mention how much hiring a vehicle would cost, tell me, where could we put them in Qi City?"
"That’s true..." Mrs. Zhen thought about the multi-floor layout of the shop they were moving into, where she planned to do business! Using it to store broken cabinets would be such a waste! It would not only take up space but be a nuisance too.
"What about the TV and the washing machine then?" Mrs. Zhen’s gaze shifted to the Changhong color TV.
"Take those with us! Each trip there, we pack and move one item! Take my bicycle as well!"
"Just these three? What about my sewing machine?"
"Mom! That thing isn’t worth much these days! Let’s not bring it."
"Sigh... Alright." Mrs. Zhen sighed. Nowadays everyone buys ready-made clothes, few sew or alter clothes themselves anymore.
"Then, I better tidy up the house during the New Year! After New Year’s, we’ll move things bit by bit. We need to take the quilts, clothes, and also the pots, pans, ladles, and all that stuff..."
After breakfast, Mrs. Zhen didn’t let Zhen Yu accompany her to Shoe City, saying, "It’s cold outside! You, a young lady, are not resistant to the cold!"
Zhen Yu didn’t insist either, and after locking the door, she quietly reviewed her materials. Soon, the wire laundry line made a noise.
Zhen Yu knew it must be Han Mingyue. His visits had become less frequent, but he still came to see Zhen Yu a few times a month.
Most of the time, they discussed self-studying progress, debated difficult problems, or looked for writing inspiration together.
"Xiao Yu!" As soon as Han Mingyue entered the living room, without even taking off his coat, he eagerly said, "I want to go to the bookstore, come with me!"
"Lucky you! Going book shopping again?" Zhen Yu half-joked.
"Yeah! I received my manuscript fee! Feel like browsing around." Han Mingyue seemed a bit excited.
"Sure! Just wait for a moment." As she spoke, Zhen Yu quickly bundled herself up into a dumpling.
"Heh!" Han Mingyue couldn’t help but chuckle lightly as she watched Zhen Yu, "Xiao Yu, hold on to me later, I’m afraid you’ll fall due to an unstable center of gravity!"
"No, I’ll just walk slowly," Zhen Yu carelessly waved her hand.
As it turned out, you cannot eat recklessly! Nor should you speak carelessly!
The two had just left the courtyard when nearby, someone’s disposed dirty water had frozen under the snow cover. Zhen Yu slipped unexpectedly and fell straight down. Had it not been for Han Mingyue’s quick reflexes to grab her, she might have experienced what it’s like to ski from a great height! Although the puddle beneath the pit had already frozen into solid ice, thick enough that it would take a long time for an adult to break it with a pickaxe, sliding down from such a height was quite terrifying.
"Xiao Yu!" After helping Zhen Yu up, Han Mingyue gently started removing the snow behind her while softly commanding, "Hold on to me later!"
"Ouch! Ah!" To tell the truth, Zhen Yu’s bum really hurt from the fall, and Han Mingyue, unfortunately, hit her just then, causing her to gasp in pain.
"What happened?" Han Mingyue couldn’t help but grin, "Did the fall hurt?"
Zhen Yu glared at him and did not respond.
Han Mingyue paused for a second, then quickly lowered his head, but the corners of his lips were still turned up high.
The snow kept falling as the two supported each other and walked slowly forward.
They occasionally watched the path and their steps, soon crossing the railway tracks to arrive in front of the platform.
Zhen Yu was dressed so thickly she couldn’t possibly jump up like she did in summer; Han Mingyue had no choice but to lead her up the stairs properly.
Just a dozen steps and Zhen Yu felt like she was walking out of a wedding ceremony! She couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly; even if she liked him so much, she shouldn’t be so eager to marry!
Han Mingyue knew none of this; he only knew that Zhen Yu’s soles were extremely slippery!
Several times along the way, he almost got taken down by her, if not for both of their decent sense of balance...
The more a person feels they are doing okay, the more likely they are to be unlucky!
Han Mingyue was half a step ahead of Zhen Yu when his feet reached the platform first. Just as Zhen Yu set one foot on the last step and the other on the platform, who knows what she stepped on, but she suddenly toppled forward, about to faceplant!
Han Mingyue was also tilted forward by her momentum. Fortunately, his reaction was quick, and he immediately turned around to catch Zhen Yu, then both of them ended up sitting down on the platform.
"Ow!" Han Mingyue wasn’t hurt too much from the fall, but, but...
"Xiao Yu, how are you?" Han Mingyue dared not move, suppressing his embarrassment as he asked softly, "Can you, can you get up?"
Right then, Zhen Yu wished she could just disappear into a crack in the ground, too embarrassed to speak. Panicking, she propped herself up with her hands and ended up sitting awkwardly beside Han Mingyue, looking down and pretending to be mute.
"..." Han Mingyue sneakily glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
Regrettably, with her hat, scarf, and mask, her face was wrapped too tightly for him to see what her expression was.
The two sat stupidly in the same spot for a while until Han Mingyue stood up first and reached out his hand to Zhen Yu.
"Come on, get up! You’ll catch a cold if you sit too long!"
"Mm." Zhen Yu grabbed his hand, but her response was as faint as a mosquito in a summer night, barely audible.