The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

From the warm afternoon sun to the approaching dusk, the commotion in the villa gradually subsided.

Xu Nian brought a basin of warm water from the bathroom, took off the girl's wet stockings, and gently put her little feet into the water to wash them.

"You can go now, I can do it myself."

"It's alright, you should rest for a while."

Xu Xi rubbed her sore calves and glared at the man with a sullen look.

That afternoon really exhausted her.

She truly hadn't expected that the usually gentle and considerate man would be so crazy at such a crucial moment.

She's even crazier than her.

Xu Nian cleaned the girl's toes very carefully. He inserted his fingers between each of her toes and rubbed them gently, repeating this several times until he was sure there was nothing strange left before he began to clean the next toe.

After the girl's small feet were washed until they were smooth as jade, he took a clean white soft towel and dried the water droplets on them little by little, even wiping the spaces between her toes dry.

After doing all this, he picked up the girl's pink little feet and gently sniffed them.

It's like a fine piece of jade, smooth as snow, carrying the scent of a young girl and the fragrance of shower gel, making men drool.

That's enough.

The girl glared at him reproachfully.

The man scratched the back of his head, chuckled, and slipped her little feet into the cotton slippers.

"Are you hungry? I'll go make you some food."

He rolled up his sleeves and walked toward the kitchen.

Today is Lunar New Year's Eve. As the only chef in the family, he naturally has to shoulder the arduous task of preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.

After all, Xu Xi has already done a great job, and now it's his turn to do it.

"No."

The girl on the sofa lowered her eyes, picked up a pillow, and lay down wearily.

"I asked the hotel to make it and deliver it to my home later."

"Oh, that works too."

Xu Nian chuckled and walked to the sofa, sat down next to the girl's legs, and gently massaged her calves.

"Mmm!"

The girl let out a soft, comfortable moan.

It must be said that Xu Nian's massage techniques are indeed quite effective.

His large, warm, and strong hands pressed precisely on every sensitive acupoint on the girl's legs.

Xu Xi closed her eyes and felt her body gradually relax, feeling as if her body had melted into cream, which felt extremely comfortable.

As darkness fell, a crescent moon climbed into the night sky.

Just then, a loud firecracker exploded outside the window.

"Bang!"

Xu Nian was startled and quickly covered her ears.

"That's strange, weren't they saying fireworks weren't allowed?"

He walked to the window, drew back the curtains, and looked in the direction from which the sound came.

A group of children wearing down jackets were chattering away in the playground.

One of the little boys, clutching the incense stick, tiptoed and carefully approached the fuse on the ground.

With a crackling sound, everyone immediately covered their ears and ran backward.

The little boy who was lighting the firecrackers tripped and fell to the ground.

With a squeak, the rocket scurried into his crotch, causing him to howl in pain.

This was immediately followed by laughter from his companions.

"That's what they say, but they don't really enforce it too strictly every year."

Xu Xi put on his slippers, went to the window, put his hands in his pockets, and looked at the laughing children.

"No one will care if kids play around with it. Even if adults set off those paper firecrackers or fireworks, as long as no one reports them and they don't go too far, the police won't bother them."

Xu Nian scratched his head, thinking to himself that it made sense.

After all, fireworks and firecrackers are an indispensable part of the Chinese New Year celebrations in this country. How could a mere ban erase the traditions left by our ancestors?

He put his hand on the girl's shoulder, glanced at her, and saw a hint of envy in her eyes.

"Want to go out and set off fireworks?"

He smiled.

"No...no."

Xu Xi shook his head.

She pouted and said haughtily.

"Only naive children would like to set off fireworks."

Xu Nian's eyes darted around slightly, and she laughed heartily.

"I want to go out and set off fireworks, will you come with me?"

Xu Xi glanced at him. She chuckled softly.

She brushed a stray hair from her forehead: "How childish."

......

The two changed their clothes and left the house.

Xu Xi wore a brown coat, paired with a bear hood and cotton shoes, which made her look less aloof and more adorable. Even her mask was pink, making her look like a child who hadn't grown up.

Despite the ban on fireworks, there are no shops selling fireworks on the street, but there will always be people who risk selling prohibited items on the control list for a few coins.

"So expensive? Are your firecrackers made of gold or silver?"

At a street stall, Xu Nian stared in disbelief at the prices on the wooden sign.

A string of firecrackers costs 10 yuan, a single sky rocket costs 20 yuan, and a box of firecrackers costs 50 yuan.

The price of the double-barreled cannon is even more outrageous, costing a full 100 yuan to buy one.

"Look, where can you buy firecrackers these days? These are all imported from other places. You think they're too expensive, and I think they're too expensive too."

The boss glared at him impatiently, then nervously looked around.

Although the police are not strict with people setting off fireworks under the ban, they are cracking down hard on small vendors selling fireworks and firecrackers.

If discovered, the goods will be confiscated and a fine will be imposed; there's also a possibility of detention.

Selling this kind of thing on New Year's Eve is practically risking your life to make money.

Xu Nian thought that made sense, so she stopped arguing with the stall owner about the price.

"Let's settle the bill, I'll take it all."

Upon hearing this, the stall owner's face immediately lit up with joy.

"Beautiful lady, are you serious?"

"Okay, hurry up."

Xu Xi said coldly.

The stall owner quickly took out his phone and started working on the calculator.

"That's 5300 in total, beautiful lady, just give me 5000."

Without saying a word, Xu Xi took out his phone, scanned the QR code, and transferred 5000 yuan to the stall owner.

Hearing the sound of the money arriving in his account, the stall owner couldn't stop smiling.

Once he clears out all the goods he has, he can go home for the Chinese New Year.

He dared not delay and quickly packed up all the fireworks and firecrackers on the stall, fearing that Xu Xi might change his mind.

Just as the two were picking up the fireworks and preparing to leave, the stall owner called out to Xu Xi.

"Hey beautiful, I have a set of paper firecrackers here, do you want one?"

Paper firecrackers, also known as firecrackers, are the kind that make a continuous crackling sound when lit and are a common sight at Chinese New Year and wedding celebrations.

Hearing this, Xu Xi became interested: "How much?"

"Beautiful lady, normally I would charge you 1500, but since you're so straightforward, I can't be rude and will only charge you 1000."

As the stall owner spoke, he carried a huge roll of white paper firecrackers out of the trunk of his bread cart.

"Won't they allow us to display this?"

Xu Nian asked with some concern.

After all, paper firecrackers are the loudest in the firecracker family, and the sound they make can be deafening and thunderous. In cities with firecracker bans, setting them off could be risky.

"It's okay, you can put it out at 12 o'clock, no one will care."

The stall owner said with a smile.

Before Xu Nian could say anything more, Xu Xi had already swept the money to the stall owner.

Seeing this, Xu Nian could only smile helplessly, walk forward, and take the white paper firecracker from the stall owner's shoulder.

"Take care, handsome guys and beautiful girls, see you next year."

All the goods were sold out, and the stall owner was in a great mood.

He got into the driver's seat of the van, humming a little tune, and drove home amidst the sporadic sounds of fireworks.