When I got home, it was not dark yet, but it was already past 4 o'clock.
Mother Lin kept complaining that we played outside too late.
"Okay, didn't you just come back from playing mahjong all afternoon?" Lin's father never understood why Lin's mother nagging about meaningless things did her any real good.
She clearly wanted to go out with me in the morning.
Mother Lin felt humiliated in front of Song Ren, so she rolled her eyes at Father Lin and helped prepare dinner.
Lin Fan saw a pile of canned cold dishes on the table and couldn't help but ask, "Why are there so many cold dishes?"
It's normal to have cold dishes at a banquet, as it can help ease the chef's workload. But this cold dish at their restaurant was way too much.
There were three plates of canned syrup: rambutan, yellow peaches, and green plums, all poured straight from the can.
There were also salted chicken, salted fish, salted goose, and salted pork, which were torn into pieces by hand and placed on the plate.
Braised beef, braised pork, and sliced crystal meat. There were 10 plates of these cold dishes alone.
"So many cold dishes, they all look cold." Lin Fan looked at the sugar water in the canned dish, then at the other dishes, there was not a trace of heat.
I feel like if I don’t eat something hot in winter, I will feel cold all over.
"What's so cold about it? Isn't the air conditioner on?" Lin's mother brought out a plate of braised chicken and placed it on the table. "Look at Xiao Song. He doesn't have as many problems as you."
Song Ren was called out for no reason, so he had to put on a smile and smile at Lin Ma.
When they visit someone's house, they just want to have something to eat, so why be picky?
"There are so many cold dishes every Chinese New Year. It seems like a lot, but actually there is no difference. Let's make two less in the future." Lin Fan said this sincerely.
Although the salted chicken and salted duck were served on two separate plates, there was really no difference in taste.
"Who said that? Knowing you were bringing friends back this time, I specially bought the latest canned green plums and braised pork. Everyone said they were delicious." It can't be said that Mother Lin didn't put in any effort. She did make more preparations.
But this preparation was completely different from what Lin Fan said.
Seeing that Lin's mother was getting emotional, Lin Fan didn't dare to say much. After all, it was New Year's Day, so if he could avoid arguing, he would.
Lin's father served the dishes quickly. Braised beef with yellow sprouts was something Lin Fan had loved since childhood, and the braised fish was already prepared. There was also a braised pork with preserved vegetables. Finally, he stir-fried water celery and anchovies.
"Come on, it's time to eat." Dad Lin was busy in the kitchen with a red face.
After the hot dishes were served, there was not enough space on the table. The ten cold dishes had to be put together or stacked up, or there was no place to put the cups and bowls.
Everyone said words of thanks, clinked glasses together, and started to eat dinner in a lively atmosphere.
The TV was playing a replay of last night's Spring Festival Gala, and it was so lively with singing and dancing.
At the end of the meal, Father Lin suddenly asked, "Xiao Fan is leaving tomorrow, right?"
Before Lin Fan could say anything, his mother jumped up and said, "What do you mean we're leaving tomorrow? Tomorrow is only the second day of the Chinese New Year!"
"It's already not easy for me to take leave and come back." Lin Fan knew that Lin's mother would be unhappy. "Didn't we agree on this on the phone before?"
Mother Lin was very happy at the time and didn't express any opinion, but when she was about to leave, she started to get angry again.
"Who doesn't celebrate the New Year?" Lin's mother heard it at the time, but didn't take it to heart. In her worldview, no one would go back to work on the second day of the New Year, as the boss would be at home celebrating the New Year.
"I said I had no leave, but you forced me to come back. Now that I'm back, it's inevitable that I'll stay for a short time. My colleagues can't go home for the New Year. What else are you dissatisfied with?" Lin Fan also lost his patience.
After these few days of interacting with the Li and Gao families, she found that she no longer had the same strong fear of Lin Ma as before.
And Lin's mother is really getting too demanding. We had clearly agreed to leave on the second day of the Chinese New Year, but now she suddenly gets angry again.
Although they were not really going back to work, everyone in Ji Yu's family knew that they would arrive tomorrow and were already prepared. How could they suddenly change their minds now?
Moreover, with Lin Ma's condition, even if they stayed for one more day, they would just be hiding. It really didn't make any sense whether they stayed or not.
"It's true, Auntie. If you don't leave tomorrow, it will delay things." Seeing the anger rising on Lin's mother's face, Song Ren quickly interrupted.
When Mother Lin heard this, she looked at Song Ren's smiling face and felt too embarrassed to get angry again.
Father Lin quickly tried to smooth things over. "Alright, alright, wasn't this already booked? Why are you bringing this up now, if you didn't tell us there was a problem earlier?"
Dad Lin was reluctant to let Lin Fan go, but after revealing his true identity with him yesterday, he thought it would be safer for the child to go back quickly.
Besides, with Lin Ma around, Lin Fan wouldn’t have a safe place to stay.
He was smiling when he came back, but now he is unhappy again.
He still remembers it, so Lin Fan can't be unhappy.
Father Lin quickly tried to think of a solution: "Didn't you say you were going to the movies tonight? Let's go right after we finish eating."
Lin Fan was stunned. When were they going to the movies? But when he saw Lin's father's eyes, he knew that he wanted to give them an excuse to leave.
"You just came back and you want to go out again. Why don't you stay home during the New Year?" Mother Lin was unhappy.
She was completely unaware that the root cause of her homelessness lay within herself.
"Come on, young man, do you still want them to chat with you?" Lin's father pulled Lin's mother's arm, "Wouldn't it be better to let them go out and socialize more instead of keeping us two old people company?"
Mother Lin was not very happy at first, but after hearing the rest, she looked at the handsome Song Ren who was smiling at her and said nothing.
If you say you want to go to the movies, then go to the movies.
It has been a long time since we went to the cinema to watch a movie.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, there are several Lunar New Year movies, which are dazzling to watch.
A few of them ran to the cinema on the top floor of the mall, picked out an action movie that looked good, bought a few buckets of popcorn and soda, booked a VIP viewing room, and watched the movie happily.
Because there are only five of them, they don't have to worry about others.
Li Chunhua and Gao Fei kept discussing the plot and actions, and Lin Fan didn't mind the chattering.
Fortunately, I have included VIP membership, she thought.
It's good to be rich. This was her second thought.
Returning home that evening, the car parked outside the hotel. Song Ren walked Lin Fan home alone. The others didn't hesitate and returned to their rooms.
What could possibly happen in just over 400 meters? Song Ren was used to protecting Lin Fan and was worried about her walking alone at night.
In fact, with Lin Fan's current level, people who have not practiced before will have no chance of doing well in her hands.
But Song Ren still habitually sent Lin Fan to the corridor entrance, watched Lin Fan go upstairs and enter the house before leaving.
"Hey, I saw it." As soon as Lin Fan walked in, Lin's mother rushed over, "Xiao Song brought you back."
Lin Fan didn't know what to say. She definitely couldn't tell the truth, and she didn't want to tell a lie either.
Lin's mother ignored her and continued to nag beside her: "Xiao Song must be interested in you. You'd better seize the opportunity. You're already 36..."
"Okay, okay, let the child rest for a while, she knows what she is doing." Dad Lin hurried over to pull her away.
"Does she know? If she knew, she wouldn't still be unmarried today..."
Lin Fan closed the door, blocking out Lin Ma's voice.
This home... I really don't want to go back.
The next morning, at the breakfast table, Lin's father asked Lin Fan to stay and asked if she could have lunch before leaving.
Actually, if you calculate it, Lin Fan didn't spend a lot of time at home. In order to avoid Lin's mother, she didn't even spend as much time at Li Chunhua's house as at home.
"Sister Lin, let's have lunch before we leave." Before Lin Fan could refuse, Ji Yu spoke first.
Seeing Lin's father's reluctant look, Ji Yu offered to wait a little longer.
Because Gaohe had both him and Jin Sichen, the budget stayed longer than for others.
Lin Fan had previously taken the initiative to squeeze out his own time for the sake of the two elders of the Gao family and stayed at the Gao family for one more day.
It didn't matter if they went to his house a little later. If Lin's mother wasn't such a jerk, they could actually leave tomorrow.
Moreover, Ji Yu felt that with Lin's mother around, Lin Fan might have fewer opportunities to go home in the future than he did.
"Okay, let's finish lunch then." Lin Fan hesitated for a moment and accepted Ji Yu's kindness.
She also knew that going home for the New Year this time was actually quite ridiculous and was not the scene everyone imagined.
But at lunch, when we thought it would be a warm farewell, something went wrong again.
Is it because he is rich or willful? If Lin's mother knew that Lin Fan was so rich, her attitude would definitely be different. Well, everyone doesn't like Lin's mother, right? Vote for Lin Fan!