Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 75 Having a Child and the New Year

Liu Shishi felt the sincere love in her brother's words, and then she stopped crying and smiled, shyly burying her head in his warm embrace.

She murmured softly, huffing and puffing, "Song Yiyi, you did this on purpose, you just wanted to see me cry and make a fool of myself, you bad guy."

"Alas!" Song Ci suddenly sighed again.

Listening to Song Ci's strong and powerful heartbeat, Miss Liu asked with a mixture of doubt and concern, "What's wrong, Yi Yi? Why are you sighing like that? Is there something bothering you about being with me?"

Song Ci looked worried and said, "You'll be a big star soon. There are so many handsome men in the entertainment industry. What if someone pursues you? I'm cold and boring, what if others outshine me?"

"Yi Yi, how could you think like that? You are so handsome and outstanding, what man can compare to you? I swear I will only love you for the rest of my life."

Liu Shishi looked up at Song Ci, her tone earnest as she made her promise, her expression solemn, yet her eyes held a gentle, tender affection.

Song Ci curled her lip, deliberately trying to be argumentative, and said in a teasy tone, "A woman's mouth is a deceitful devil!"

Someone has only been back for a few days, but has already praised a certain senior brother surnamed Hu to me several times, saying that he is handsome, considerate, and especially good at taking care of people.

I suppose in my sister's heart, I can't compare to Senior Brother Hu. Sister Shishi, I think we should just forget about it and go back to being brothers, or even just siblings."

Liu Shishi had already seen through Song Ci's deliberate provocation. Without being taught, she pinched his soft flesh hard on the waist. "Song Yiyi, are you trying to kill me? You're making fun of my feelings for you."

Song Ci gasped in pain, but after the pain subsided, she spoke again in a serious tone:
"Shishi, I originally didn't want to date a female celebrity. Actors are often away filming in other places for long periods of time, and the relationship is prone to problems when they are separated. So I don't like long-distance relationships."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shishi frowned and suggested, "Yiyi, since you don't like long-distance relationships, how about I quit being an actress and become a dance teacher after graduation? Teaching children to dance would be a good idea."

Song Ci knew that Miss Liu wanted to be an actress, and he was secretly touched that she was willing to accommodate him.

"No need for that. You can still happily go out to film. I have a way to maintain the stability of our relationship. As long as you agree, I will be your boyfriend."

Liu Shishi felt uneasy, wondering what difficult question the young man would ask. She gritted her teeth and said firmly, "Tell me, what conditions will I agree to!"

Song Ci suddenly grinned mischievously, "Let's have a child to maintain our relationship."

Liu Shishi blushed instantly, lowered her head, fidgeted with the hem of her dress, and whispered shyly:

“Yiyi, we’re still young. Isn’t it a bit inappropriate to have a child so early? Can we wait a few years until my career is more established before we get married and have children? I’ll definitely give you a son.”

Song Ci joked, "One isn't enough, I also want a daughter."

Liu Shishi nodded seriously, "Yes, it's good to have both a son and a daughter. I'll listen to your boyfriend."

On New Year's Eve, as the city lights began to twinkle, the capital city of Beiping was filled with laughter and joy. The Song family was enjoying their New Year's Eve dinner, a warm and peaceful scene of family reunion.

Song Ci's family relationships were relatively simple. His father, Song Zhang, was an only child, so there were no uncles or elders on his side.

My mother, Liu Xiaoxian, had a close relative, an uncle who also lived in Beiping. The two families had a very good relationship and often visited each other.

The older generation of grandparents and maternal grandparents are all still alive, making it a typical three-generation family living together in happiness.

Northerners like to eat dumplings for their New Year's Eve dinner, which symbolizes good luck in the coming year; while Southerners prefer to eat glutinous rice balls, which symbolize family reunion.

Although Song Ci was a southerner in her previous life, she later worked in Beiping (Beijing). She lived in the capital for nearly thirty years in total, and had become completely accustomed to the northern eating habits.

"Now that we can't set off fireworks and firecrackers, it doesn't feel like the New Year anymore," Song Zhang sighed, taking a sip of his juice. As a chief physician, he was always ready to perform surgery, so he never drank alcohol.

"The government has its reasons for not allowing it. Setting off fireworks and firecrackers can easily cause fires, and nothing is more important than the safety of people's lives and property."

The old man glanced at his son, and his years of work habits made him unable to resist giving him some pointers.

Song Zhang has always revered his father since childhood. Even though he is now successful in his career, he still has some fear of his father deep down. When the old man spoke up to him, he immediately fell silent.

"Alright, it's the New Year, why are you talking about this?" Grandma Song quickly advised, afraid that her husband would launch into another long-winded lecture.

Grandpa Song, still spry despite his age, poured himself a drink, then turned to his grandson with a smile, "Alright, alright, I won't nag. Want to have a drink with Grandpa on New Year's Day?"

Grandma Song immediately frowned and said angrily, "You old man, don't corrupt my precious grandson."

When Grandpa Song was young, he worked for the government and had a lot of social engagements. Sometimes he would come home drunk and vomit all over the house. Grandma Song suffered a lot from this back then, so she was particularly averse to drinking. This is also one of the reasons why Song Zhang doesn't drink alcohol.

Grandpa Song argued indignantly, "He's an adult now, a real man. What's wrong with having a drink?" But since he was in the wrong, he didn't insist that his grandson have a drink with him.

Song Ci quietly ate his dumplings, finding it particularly amusing to watch his grandparents bicker. The two elderly people had been loving and devoted to each other all their lives, truly embodying the spirit of "holding hands and growing old together," supporting each other through the long years. He envied his grandparents' faithful love.

The family sat around a table laden with delicious food, chatting as they ate. "I found a coin in my dumpling!" Song Ci suddenly felt a crunch from the filling. She used her chopsticks to pry it open and pulled out a coin.

"You ate it on New Year's Day! I wish you all the best and that all your wishes come true in the coming year." Liu Xiaoxian said happily when she saw her son find a coin in the dumpling.

Placing a coin in a dumpling is a custom that sounds like "money" in Chinese, symbolizing wealth and good fortune. It is believed that the person who finds the coin in their dumpling will have good luck in the new year, avoid poverty and bad luck, and bring good fortune to their family.

Dumplings themselves symbolize reunion and abundance, and adding a coin further emphasizes the wish for wealth and the expectation for a better life in the new year.

So when Liu Xiaoxian and her mother-in-law were making dumplings in the afternoon, they deliberately put a coin in the filling, and unexpectedly, Song Ci found it in her dumpling.

"Thank you, Mom!" Although Song Ci didn't really believe in this, she was still in a good mood, after all, it had an auspicious meaning and contained the elder's good wishes.

After dinner, the elders sat on the sofa to watch the Spring Festival Gala for the Year of the Rooster. Having read Song Ci once in his previous life, he was not interested in the Gala in this life and went back to his bedroom on his own.

"This child, Yuandan, is really strange; he doesn't like watching TV at all." Liu Xiaoxian looked at her son's back, puzzled.

"Let him be, as long as our son is happy." Song Zhang nodded in agreement with his wife's doubts, but his son had always been like this, independent and unconventional. Not watching TV wasn't a bad habit, so as long as he was happy.

Song Ci returned to his bedroom. He wasn't in the mood to read on New Year's Eve. He figured Liu Shishi's family was probably watching the Spring Festival Gala, so he didn't disturb her. Instead, he turned on his computer and browsed the news. His own website's main color had changed to a festive red, and the golden rooster logo gleamed.

Today's main news is also about the Spring Festival and the Spring Festival Gala. After carefully browsing her own website, Song Ci went to Sohu and NetEase to personally understand the current situation of these websites.

Around nine o'clock at night, his phone kept vibrating and sending text message notifications. People started sending him New Year's greetings, which Song Ci politely replied to one by one. He also sent New Year's wishes to his homeroom teacher, counselor, and other teachers.

My phone vibrated slightly; I had received another text message.

Shi Bao: Happy New Year, boyfriend
Song Ci chuckled to himself. Ever since he and Shi Ye officially established their relationship a few days ago, Miss Liu had completely returned to her usual lively, cheerful, and carefree personality, but she had become increasingly gentle and considerate towards him.

I quickly typed out a text message and replied, "Happy New Year, girlfriend."

Just as Song Ci was about to continue chatting with Shi Ye on her phone, her phone rang suddenly. She was taken aback; it was Shen calling. After hesitating for a few seconds, she answered the call.

"Song Ci, Happy New Year, wishing you all the best." As expected of a natural-born host, Shen's voice was as clear and pleasant as ever.

"Happy New Year,."

It's easy for a woman to pursue a man. The young woman took the initiative to send him New Year's greetings, and Song Ci could only respond gently. Although he had no romantic feelings for Shen, he had indeed come to regard her as a good friend.

After exchanging greetings, there was a slight awkward silence. Shen Yi on the other end of the phone didn't know what to talk about. This was her biggest problem; conversations would always abruptly end.

Even though the two had become friends, Song Ci rarely took the initiative to speak, and she always had to find topics to talk about.

She had also subtly inquired about Song Ci with the little lion, and found that he didn't have many hobbies. This man was too cold, and his desires were terribly low, making it difficult to continue the conversation each time.

Shen felt helpless; she didn't want the two of them to awkwardly hang up the phone after only a polite greeting.

With a sigh, I wondered when I would be able to warm up this cold stone, so I could only force myself to find a topic to talk about.

"Did you watch the Spring Festival Gala, Song Ci? This year's programs weren't as good as in previous years. I'm still waiting for Mr. Benshan to appear!"

"I don't like watching TV."

Shen was furious. Why was this guy like this? Did he not want to talk to her and was he saying this on purpose?

Rapid breathing came through the receiver. Song Ci, quick-witted and afraid that Shen would misunderstand, immediately added, "I don't usually watch TV, I'm online right now."

Shen breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Song Ci's explanation. It was good that he wasn't deliberately cold, but he still had no interest in continuing the conversation. He said awkwardly, "I'm going to watch the Spring Festival Gala. See you after school starts."

"Okay." After hanging up the phone, Song Ci saw that Shi Ye had sent a few more messages, so she continued to chat with her via text message.

Shen Xin, far away in Tianjin, was extremely disappointed. Her relationship with Song Ci seemed to have reached a dead end, with no further progress possible.

He wondered to himself what the little lion usually talked about with Song Ci. This feeling of wanting but not being able to have was really painful.

At midnight, the New Year's bells rang, and people cheered and laughed, welcoming a new spring.

February 14, 2005, was the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, which was also Valentine's Day.

This festival was originally called "Valentine's Day". Legend has it that the ancient Roman priest Valentine defied the ban and held a wedding for lovers. He was hanged on February 14 and was thus remembered by later generations.

Some believe that the festival originated from the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, where young men and women could draw lots for a wedding.

In the 16th century, Valentine's Day began to gain popularity in England. In Shakespeare's play *Hamlet*, Ophelia has a line:
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, everyone should get up early.

See me at your window, I'll be the one you've been longing for.

Valentine's Day was introduced to China in the 1930s. From its inception, the festival was translated as "Valentine's Day," a term more easily accepted by the Chinese people.

1993 was a pivotal year in the popularization of Valentine's Day in China.

February 14th of that year was a Sunday. Thanks to the advance planning of a group of merchants, a "Valentine's Day whirlwind" swept through the entire city of Beiping.

At least 15 companies placed Valentine's Day advertisements in newspapers, and since then, Valentine's Day has become popular throughout the country, becoming an important festival for young men and women to fall in love.

Downstairs in the familiar apartment building, young men and women are about to embark on their Valentine's Day date.

"Yi-yi, where are we going today?" Liu Shishi was wearing her new New Year's clothes, a long pink trench coat, with light makeup, elegant and graceful, and a sweet and pure smile, revealing the lovely beauty of a young girl.

"Valentine's Day, a holiday brought from the West, let's go out for Western food," Song Ci said with a smile, her words as gentle as a soft rain, making everyone feel warm and welcome.

Liu Shishi shook her head and pouted, "No, I don't like Western food, I want hot pot, spicy hot pot!"

“Okay!” Song Ci agreed. His relationship with Shi Ye had developed naturally. They weren’t deliberately seeking a romantic candlelight dinner. They just wanted to be happy and relaxed. In the chilly spring weather, a hot and delicious hot pot was just the right choice.

Song Ci drove Liu to an authentic Chongqing hot pot restaurant. As soon as they entered the restaurant, a strong and pungent aroma wafted over them. The two were lucky enough to find a private room.

Song Ci had no dietary restrictions, so to accommodate the poet's tastes, she was allowed to order. Miss Liu ordered some beef, mutton, and vegetables from the menu, and soon the waiter had filled the table with plates.

Song Ci picked up a piece of beef, dipped it in the hot pot, and slowly savored it. The piping hot mountain hot pot had a rich broth that combined intense spiciness and savory aroma, instantly delighting the taste buds.

"So spicy and hot!" Shi Ye ate with great gusto, eagerly putting the meat into her mouth. The spiciness stimulated her tongue, like electric currents passing through it, making her stick out her little tongue and pant.

"No one's going to take it from you, eat slowly, and have some plum juice." Song Ci poured a drink and handed it to Shi Ye.

Liu Shishi took the teacup, took a big gulp, exhaled a breath of stale air, and exclaimed, "So refreshing! So delicious!"

(End of this chapter)