It was the Spring Festival in a blink of an eye.

Yang Xiao and Meng Yufan remained awkward. There is a word used to describe couples who are in harmony with each other in appearance-"the face is peaceful", then they are "gentle in bed".

Meng Yufan also got into the horns, Yang Xiao's absent-mindedness was seen in his eyes, so he worked harder after going to bed, Yang Xiao was hurt by him, so he doubled the pain back to him, but Meng Yufan's whole body Fingernail marks were caught on his back, and he gasped with pain every time he took a bath.

Fortunately, their team hasn't been training recently, otherwise it would be seen by his teammates who are afraid of chaos.

Yang Xiao still had a few inches, and did not leave a mark on his neck, but Meng Yufan did not have as many concerns as her, the hot kiss spread from her chest to the collarbone, and then bit from the inner thigh to the toe inch by inch, Yang Xiao In extreme pain, he raised his foot and kicked, but he was suppressed by him, bullied him up, and retaliated against her severely.

No matter what awkwardness the young couple was making after closing the door; in front of the elders, the two of them were still very good at acting.

Yang Xiao’s parents didn’t know how they learned about Meng Yufan’s parents’ return to China. The old couple were still traveling abroad. They couldn’t even travel well, so they called over at night and told their daughter carefully. Let her remember the way of hospitality and entertain Meng's parents who came from afar.

"I knew we would not go out for a trip." Mother Yang said annoyedly, "My in-laws are here, and we are not here!"

"Which family's family?" Yang Xiao interrupted her, "If there is nothing wrong with the character, the two of them returned to China to see their son, not me. Don't think about it too complicated."

"Where is the horoscope?" Mother Yang was very anxious, "I think Meng Yufan is pretty good, and it's almost time for you to settle down. Originally, my dad and I didn't agree with you looking for a younger one, but I saw After Fanzi, I feel that the reliability of men has nothing to do with age, but only with character. Look at your two boyfriends before, and they all looked like people. In the end, it was not..."

"—Two boyfriends?" Yang laughed for a moment.

Mother Yang: "..."

Yang Xiao asked her: "Where did you know?"

From beginning to end, she only told her family about her first boyfriend. The second boyfriend, Yu Huaibo, was just about to take him home when she found him cheating into an octopus. In order to reassure her parents, she specially hired Meng Yufan as her boyfriend.

Mother Yang: "..." She stubbornly pushed her phone to the lover who was aside, and asked him to explain.

The old couple pushed the hot potato back and forth for a long time. In the end, Father Yang was defeated and could only bite the bullet and explain to his daughter.

"Um... smile, actually we knew Fanzi was not your second boyfriend." Father Yang coughed dryly. "One time a relative came at home and said that we wanted to eat together. My mother and I planned to go directly to the TV station. After picking you up from get off work, I saw a man with glasses waiting for you holding a bouquet of flowers. He looked very elegant. The man was in his thirties and was gentle and looked good with you. Let’s just Guess, that was your boyfriend at the time, so during the Mid-Autumn Festival, I urged you to take him home."

As a result, something unexpected happened. On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the daughter did not bring back the gentleman, but a little wolf dog.

Yang's father and Yang's mother were blinded. The first reaction was whether his daughter was on two boats, but so many years of trust convinced them that their daughter was not that kind of person. Later, the couple tried to find a way to inquire. After knowing the bad things that Yu Huaibo had done, they probably guessed the truth of the matter: I guess I laughed and didn’t want them to worry. They found a young boy through some channels and pretended to be her boyfriend. .

On that day, Yang Xiao took a fake boyfriend to act for a day in order to reassure his parents.

In order to make her feel at ease, her parents pretended not to know, and acted in the same day.

Yang Xiao: "..." I didn't expect that when she tried her best to tear the fig leaf to conceal the truth, her parents would have seen everything through, and tenderly accommodated all her care. At that moment, shame, self-blame, embarrassment, touch, grievance... these complex feelings flooded in her chest, Yang Xiao held her mobile phone, wondering what else she could say.

She sniffed, and in a slightly hoarse voice, she changed the subject abruptly: "...you guys have fun, don't worry about me."

Then she hung up the phone as if she was evading something.

On another continent separated by many oceans, Yang's father and Yang's mother shook her head helplessly while listening to the blind tone coming from the phone and looking at each other.

Forget it, children and grandchildren have their own children and grandchildren. Xiaoxiao has always been a child with an idea, and she will make her own decision in her life.

…

The Meng family’s parents originally planned to go back after the Spring Festival in China, but there were some problems in the overseas factories, and they had to rush back to deal with them as soon as possible.

And the most recent ticket is in the early morning of New Year's Day.

Looking at her already tall and strong son, Mom and Meng felt very guilty. Originally, she wanted to come back to spend the holidays with her son, but the plan couldn't keep up with the changes.

Meng Yufan looked open, but comforted his parents: "It's okay, at least we can have New Year's Eve dinner together, and I will send you to the airport when we finish eating."

So like this, this New Year's Eve, Yang Xiao will celebrate with Meng Yufan's family of three.

Mother Meng doesn't know how to cook, so letting her cook is no different from frying a bunker, so they booked a New Year's Eve reunion banquet in a private restaurant in advance.

Normally, this kind of reunion banquet must be booked at least one or two months in advance. Whether they are set up temporarily, or is such a famous private restaurant, Yang Xiao deliberately forced herself not to think about how much money the Meng family had spent.

This New Year's Eve dinner is indeed rich. The private rooms are small but exquisite, with both rare delicacies and home-cooked dishes. Thanks to the chef's skillful processing and exquisite ingredients, each dish is enough to show off in the circle of friends.

Yang Xiao also took two photos. Seeing that everyone in her circle of friends was sending out New Year's Eve dinner, she also shared a set of photos enthusiastically.

Tang Shuge had sharp eyes and immediately chatted with her privately.

Sugar Sugar: Aren't your parents abroad? Who are the two middle-aged people in the photo? Aren't they Meng Yufan's parents? Have you been with them for the Chinese New Year before they got married?

Yang Xiao was startled. When she took pictures, she only took pictures of the dishes, and deliberately avoided the people at the table. How did Tang Shuge know?

LOL: Do you have clairvoyance?

LOL: Or did you hack into the surveillance camera in the box?

LOL: There are only vegetables in the photo. Where do you see it?

Soon, Tang Shuge sent a picture—it was a piece of West Lake beef soup taken by Yang Xiao. When the food was served, the waiter hung the metal ladle on the edge of the soup bowl. Tang Shuge magnified the picture to the largest extent and drew a striking red circle on the metal ladle. In the red circle, two reflected figures can be vaguely seen.

LOL: It's all right? ? Are you an agent background? ? ?

Sugar Sugar: I am not an agent, I am a fan girl.

Sugar Sugar: Do you know how many idols are there for men and women? Do you know that the love affair is exposed because of the reflection of the metal spoon?

LOL:...

Xingba, the fan circle detective is really amazing. She is willing to go down!

Yang Xiao thought, if Tang Shuge saw that the four of them had a New Year's Eve dinner together, would anyone else also notice it? For example, her parents, her relatives, her colleagues and friends, and... when she thinks of this, Yang Xiao feels a little flickering.

After the dinner, the waiter removed the leftovers and served a cup of dessert alone.

Mum Meng is a southerner. In her hometown, she doesn't eat dumplings during the New Year, but instead eats Yuanxiao. Reunion and sweetness, each of them put a small cup of red bean wine stuffed dumplings in front of them. The taste was very good, but Yang Xiao couldn't eat it.

Seeing her eating slowly, Meng Yufan asked her, "Don't like it? How about I let the chef give you dumplings."

"No need." Yang Xiao shook his head, "It's not that I don't like eating, but I'm too full to eat."

"If you can't eat it, give it to me." Meng Yufan took the dessert cup in front of her directly, and ate the rest of her bowl in two or two mouthfuls, not at all despising that it was the leftovers of his girlfriend.

Before Yang Xiao could stop, he saw him swallowing everything in his stomach.

"You eat slowly, this kind of sweet and sticky is not easy to digest." Yang Xiao whispered, "Eat so fast, be careful of discomfort in your stomach."

Although the relationship between the two is awkward, it does not mean that they do not love each other. Or it should be said that the relationship is so awkward because they love each other. At least at the dinner table, the two watched each other and raised their eyebrows a little to know what each other liked and disliked.

Seeing the two of them so close and loving each other, the Meng family's parents looked more and more happy.

Their son hadn't learned anything since he was a child, and the girl confessed to him, but he thought that falling in love is not as interesting as playing basketball. He didn't think that as soon as he regained his consciousness, he seemed to be a different person in an instant. His such a big change is inseparable from Yang Xiao.

If you change to a spoiled and wayward girl, make a fortune and hold Meng Yufan in your hands, then the old couple will definitely disagree; but now it seems that Yang Xiao is sensible, has a high emotional intelligence, and has a strong sense of professionalism. What kind of young people do they admire the most, do they have any comments?

Father Meng looked at his wife beside him and nodded slightly to her.

Mum Meng received his gaze, coughed a clear cough, and took out a small box from her golden brown birkin.

The box was a long and narrow rectangle, about three fingers wide and forty centimeters long, with a golden ribbon on it, looking beaming.

"Miss Yang...I mean, smile." Mum Meng smiled and looked at the girl across the table, "You have worked so hard these days to take care of our old couple. You accompany us to dinner again, and accompany us to go shopping and shopping. This time we return to China, we just want to meet our son’s girlfriend. The result is better and more perfect than we thought. It is his blessing that Fanfan can find a girlfriend like you. With you, we will You can go back without worry...Before we leave, we would like to give you a gift, which represents the little care of our old couple."

"You are too polite." Yang Xiao looked at the small red and gold box and hurriedly declined. "You have given me a lot of things these days, and they are more expensive each time. I am embarrassed to hold them. Take care of you. It should be a bit, gifts or something, I really don’t need it."

Yang Xiao guessed that, according to Ms. Meng's usual magnanimity, the long box might be a golden necklace or a heavy jewel hairpin.

"This gift is different." Father Meng said with a serious face, "This is our tradition and must be given."

Just as Yang Xiao declined, Meng Yufan suddenly stretched out his hand from the side and pressed the small box.

"Dad, Mom, sister Xiaoxiao has a thin face, so don't push it. I will hold this gift for her first."

"..." Yang Xiao was blank.

It's really strange that every time Ms. Meng gave her a gift, Meng Yufan stood by like a telegraph pole. Whether she accepted it or not, he didn't express any opinions and fully respected her choice. Why is she uncharacteristically today, calling the shots for her?

But thanks to his interruption, Meng's father and Mum finally let her go.

Because this gift was accepted by Meng Yufan on her behalf, a trace of regret flashed across Meng's mother's face, but she soon suppressed that regret.

…

When the clock crossed zero o'clock, Yang Xiao and Meng Yufan sent Meng's father and Meng to the airport together.

On the early morning of New Year's Day, there were very few people in the airport, and even the staff on duty were fewer than usual.

There are not many people who will rush to travel at this special time point. The security check only opens, and every passenger says goodbye to the person who saw him off at the security check.

Yang Xiao stood quietly and did not disturb Meng Yufan's farewell to his family.

Mother Meng repeated those words, and Meng Yufan would have memorized it a long time ago after listening to it for so many years.

Every time the opening remarks, it is "study hard".

Sure enough, Mum Meng said: "You study hard! Don't think you are a sports specialty student, and cultural classes are not important. If you can't get your diploma, you won't be able to raise your head in the basketball team in the future!"

After telling her homework, his mother will enter the second stage again, "play well."

After being taken in by him again, Mum Meng said: "Use snacks when playing, don't run rampant, don't get hurt! Of course, you must get the points you deserve, and mom will wait for you to get the MVP, and you must return to China to celebrate for you!"

These old-fashioned words were all answered by Meng Yufan.

Soon to the last part of the conversation, Meng Yufan knew that his mother wanted him to "listen to the teacher and the coach."

Only this time, Ms. Meng's exhortation added a word.

"Also, listen to more laughter."

"…what?"

Father Meng, who was silent from beginning to end, finally spoke at this moment: "Son, Dad tells you from experience-a man who listens to his wife will succeed!"

Yang Xiao couldn't hold back, and quickly turned to the side with his mouth covered.

Papa Meng is a very serious middle-aged man, looks very imposing and very majestic. But such a serious and silent middle-aged man who didn't talk much, but often said amazing, golden sentences frequently.

I don't know how his heart can be so different from his appearance.

Seeing that there is not much time, it will be too late if there is no security check. Mum Meng hugged her son in a hurry, then turned to Yang Xiao, and opened her arms to meet her.

Mum Meng has worked abroad for many years, and she has a foreign style—she gave Yang Xiao an intimate and warm kiss on the cheek. A soft kiss fell on the girl's cheek, she pressed it to her ear, and whispered: "Next time we return to China, I hope we can be a family."

Yang Xiao did not respond.

She didn't know how to react.

…

After Meng's father and Meng's mother disappeared in the security check area, Yang Xiao and Meng Yufan stood side by side in the departure hall, watching them drift away.

"Sister Xiaoxiao, do you know?" the boy beside him suddenly said, "When I was young, I would cry every time I sent them. But then I found out that even if I cried, I couldn't keep them."

Yang Xiao imagined that scene—in an airport where people came and went, a boy with an immature face stood outside the red line, watching the figure of his parents leaving, crying loudly. Although he is tall, he is just a child in his heart. At the age when he needs the company of his parents most, he is left alone here.

Who was beside him at that time? Is it a nanny? Is it a relative? Or the coach?

Meng Yufan whispered: "When I grow up, the nanny at home will also be fired. I moved to the school dormitory for a long time. The so-called home is more like a warehouse for storing things. The memory is in it, but my family is not there... At that time, every time I sent them away, I didn't want to go home. No matter how late I would go back to the school dormitory, if the dormitory was closed, I would go to the hotel."

Yang Xiao shook his hand: "It doesn't matter, I am here now."

"…Um."

He is different from what he used to be. He sent away his family again, but this time, he had a new family by his side.

Meng Yufan clasped Yang Xiao's hand tightly, and the **** interlocked, and the palms of the hands merged together. No one can be distracted, who is passing this enthusiasm to whom.

Meng Yufan looked at Yang Xiao.

Yang Xiao was also looking at Meng Yufan.

Yang Xiao has never been so sure, she loves Meng Yufan.

Love his self-confidence and bravery, and love his loneliness and fragility.

He is the cutest contradiction in the world. He has the strongest body and the most naive soul.

If possible, she wants to go back in time and hug the lonely boy.

But on the other hand, she was afraid of herself falling in love like this—

Yang Xiao once read a sentence in a book to the effect that when you fall in love with a beautiful girl, you will find that when she is not beautiful, you love her most.

Similarly, when she fell in love with a brave boy, she found that when he revealed his fragility and pain, she was hopelessly trapped in his world.

Yang Xiao thought, this is not possible. This will not work. She can't put herself into a relationship without reservation. She must become the master of this relationship.

She failed twice, and the third time, she did not allow herself to fail again.

Therefore, she desperately spent money on Meng Yufan. Even on the bed, she is always in charge.

But now... She looked at the handsome young boy in front of her, but didn't know what she was resisting.

"Sister Xiaoxiao." In the empty airport lobby, he lowered his head and kissed the tip of her nose, "Do you want to know, what is in the box my parents gave you?"

"What is it?"

This is what Yang Xiao was curious about all night.

What kind of gift was it that would make Meng Yufan break his insistence and take it away without authorization?

Meng Yufan stretched out his hand and took out the box from his backpack.

The long and narrow red box, the golden ribbon, the two colors merged together, leaving a deep reflection in the pupils.

Yang Xiao seemed to have a premonition and reached out to take it.

Unexpectedly, the box was extremely light, so light that Yang Xiao's hand fluttered, and he doubted that he had received a handful of air.

She shook the small box subconsciously and heard the rustling sound from inside.

Meng Yufan looked at her and said, "Sister Xiaoxiao, you can open it and take a look."

So Yang Xiao pulled the ribbon and gently opened the lid of the box-something unexpected appeared in front of her.

That is a branch. Fresh, emerald green, like a branch that has just been broken off from a branch.

The brown-gray branches are interrupting and branching, and continue to branch at the end, with a small green needle-shaped leaf attached to each branch. The needles spread out, from one to many, turning into a small handful of dazzling green.

Yang Xiao never expected that the Meng family gave her a branch.

"... Is this a pine tree?"

"No." Meng Yufan said, "this is a cypress."

Yang Xiao recalled the Cuibai on both sides of the road, but still didn't understand why she had to give her such a thing.

"There is a custom with us. As long as the family has a child, a tree must be planted." Meng Yufan said slowly, "If it's a girl, plant a camphor, the day her daughter gets married. , Cut off the camphor to make a wooden box for dowry; if it is a boy, plant a cypress tree. On the day of the son’s proposal, the parents will cut off a section of the branch and give it as a gift."

"..."

Yang Xiao knew for the first time that a small cypress branch could have such a profound meaning behind it.

She was holding the branch, which obviously felt light and light just now, but now it feels that it weighs a thousand catties.

This branch is far more valuable than any previous gift, and it cannot be valued with money at all.

Meng Yufan continued: "You have been contradictory lately. I don't know what you are contradicting, but I think it should be related to this relationship, right?"

The boy was very careful: "I think if my mother delivers this gift directly to you at the dinner table, you will definitely be embarrassed. You don't know whether to accept it or not. So I took it on my own initiative. For now-now, only the two of us are left."

Yes, there are only two of them left.

There are no parents’ ardent expectations, no friends’ concern and tension, only him and her.

The boy's big palm held her little hand, and in her palm was the emerald green cypress.

"Smile, this cypress tree will always be here." He said, "Whether you accept it or not, it will always be there, and I will always be there."

At this moment.

Yang Xiao's tears fell.

She had always thought that in this relationship, she had always had the upper hand.

She had always thought that she was the one who mastered the steering wheel, and she was also the one who mastered the switch.

But only now did she find out—

It turns out that the person who really controls the emotional switch is actually Meng Yufan. But he chose to leave the switch in her hands.

She couldn't cry. She shivered and folded her palms.

The green cypress was held tightly in her palm.

Cypress thorns seem sharp, but they are actually flexible and elastic.

She held it, and he held her at the same time.

Yang Xiao's tears kept streaming, but the corners of her mouth rose.

"Yu Fan," she called his name, solemnly and firmly, as if she had made the most important oath in her life, "I accept this cypress branch."