My Girlfriend is a Cold and Aloof Sickly Beauty 89

Chapter 89: Where Does Jiang Xue’s Gaze Fall?

At 7:00 PM, the New Year’s Eve dinner officially began.

The Jiang family always preferred having New Year’s Eve dinner at home. Even if they booked a private room with a view at a restaurant, the atmosphere wasn’t as comfortable as being at home.

Xiao Luohan sat next to Jiang Xue, with Jiang Mei on her other side. Across from them were the two mothers and Sister Cheng and her daughter.

Of the three housekeepers, only Sister Cheng stayed for dinner. The other two had gone home.

Xiao Luohan had later heard about Sister Cheng’s family situation from Jiang Xue.

When Cheng Shizhu was little, their family had experienced a fire. Sister Cheng’s wife had saved her and their daughter, but she herself had succumbed to the smoke.

—That’s why Sister Cheng always paid close attention to the fire exits and emergency exits in every rented apartment.

The fire had destroyed everything. Sister Cheng, heartbroken, had wanted to take Cheng Shizhu back to her hometown, but she couldn’t bear to leave the Jiang family, who relied on her, so she had talked to Ms. Wei and Ms. Jiang.

The final result was as Xiao Luohan saw now. Sister Cheng and her daughter had become another kind of “family” to the Jiang family.

Even after getting their own house, Sister Cheng still spent most of her time at the Jiang family’s home.

“We have another family member this year,” Ms. Wei said with a smile, pulling Xiao Luohan back from her thoughts. “Let’s welcome Xiao Luo again, shall we?”

Jiang Xue was the first to raise her glass and stand up, followed by Jiang Mei.

Xiao Luohan rarely made toasts with so many people. She also hurriedly stood up, still trying to recall the appropriate height for her glass when toasting with peers and elders, when she saw all the glasses clinking together cheerfully.

—The Jiang family didn’t have so many formalities, even during the New Year.

The New Year’s Eve dinner catered to everyone’s tastes, with a table full of dishes. The steamed glutinous rice with red bean paste, crispy spring rolls and fried bean curd sheets, and braised eel with preserved vegetables were the most popular.

Jiang Xue ate while secretly observing Xiao Luohan.

She was happy to see that Xiao Luo had truly changed a lot. She had been quite reserved during the welcome dinner when she first arrived, but now, perhaps because she had eaten at their home more often, and Dr. Qi’s medicine was effective, after a month, she no longer looked as frail and thin, and her appetite had also improved.

It was great, the “Nurturing Xiao Luo Plan” was going smoothly.

Xiao Luohan quickly noticed Jiang Xue looking at her and, while everyone else was focused on the food, she also looked over.

Their gazes met unexpectedly, and Jiang Xue, startled, quickly looked away, hurriedly finishing the abalone and fried shrimp in her bowl.

But her ears started burning, as if secretly looking at Xiao Luo during New Year’s Eve dinner was something unspeakable.

Fortunately, Jiang Xue sometimes let her hair down while eating at home, and her hair was currently down, covering her ears, so even Xiao Luohan, sitting beside her, couldn’t see.

“Did you see that?” Jiang Mei, who was eating, suddenly heard Xiao Linghan’s voice.

“…See what?”

“The two little girls’ small actions,” Xiao Linghan said. “I didn’t expect your younger sister, usually so carefree, to be shy about making eye contact with my younger sister in front of the elders.”

“Do you really not know, or are you asking knowingly?” Jiang Mei continued peeling a crab, her expression unchanged, but her heart filled with curiosity. She even used honorifics to express her eagerness to learn.

“Just treat it as me asking knowingly,” Xiao Linghan chuckled. “I spent my life on the battlefield and never had a so-called ‘relationship,’ let alone knowing how same-sex couples start or maintain their relationships.”

“But I find their interactions endearing—even though I never imagined they would develop feelings beyond friendship and familial affection before sending Xiao Luo here.”

“…I have the same thought,” Jiang Mei said, eating a crab leg. “But I plan to let things take their natural course, see what they think.”

“If A-Xue or Xiao Luo comes to me for advice, of course I’ll help. But before that, I plan to remain an outsider… both girls are intelligent and perceptive, they should experience it themselves and gradually adjust to each other.”

Neither of the “Meis” worried that their younger sister would ruin their relationship with the other because of this.

After all, even if they didn’t become lovers, Jiang Xue and Xiao Luohan were still family and confidantes who could rely on each other.

After dinner, Jiang Xue took Xiao Luohan to the attic and brought out the telescope she used for watching the fireworks display in the plaza.

“It’s colder outside at night, so we won’t go to the plaza to watch the fireworks,” she said, skillfully adjusting the settings. “You can use this to watch. I’ve added an eye-protection filter, so the colors are a bit dimmer, but the details are still good.”

Fireworks were already being set off in the plaza, and they could see the brilliant colors blooming in the sky from the window.

Xiao Luohan stood in front of the telescope, watching intently.

Bright “little snakes” shot up into the night sky, exploding into showers of sparkling light, then dissipating in the cold wind and snow along with the grayish smoke.

The telescope was only for one person to use at a time. Jiang Xue had watched fireworks for so many years that she was used to it, treating this activity like “watching the Spring Festival Gala.” Even though she knew that the quality of the programs on the capital’s TV station was always good, unlike some local stations that were driven by commercial interests and became stepping stones for “traffic stars,” with nonsensical content, she no longer had the same enthusiasm as when she was little.

But if Xiao Luo wanted to watch, she would still accompany her.

Xiao Luohan quite enjoyed watching performances. She had even watched all the recordings of the three-grade performances from the New Year’s Eve gala that Jiang Xue had copied from Teacher Ai.

However, after noticing Jiang Xue’s unusual behavior during the New Year’s Eve dinner, she had a selfish motive.

“Can we go to the study or the bedroom and watch the Spring Festival Gala on the computer?” she asked Jiang Xue after watching the fireworks. “I prefer watching things with just the two of us.”

There was no need to make up any excuses. As long as she was willing to cast the bait, the cat would gladly take it.

“Of course!” Jiang Xue readily agreed, then explained a little embarrassedly, “Actually, I also feel a little awkward watching the Spring Festival Gala with Mom and Mom… cough, there’s a bit of a generation gap. Sometimes I can’t help but complain about the programs they like, and they don’t get the jokes in the programs I find interesting.”

As for her older sister, watching the Spring Festival Gala with her was like doing film analysis and market research. She was completely detached from the programs and the festive atmosphere.

After saying hello to the family, they returned to the bedroom and turned on the computer, preparing to watch the Spring Festival Gala on the capital’s TV station.

There were all sorts of things in the bedroom. Jiang Xue and Cheng Shizhu had prepared some snacks a few days ago, so now they had everything they needed, without having to go downstairs.

She even pushed the wheeled storage box with snacks next to the computer desk, within easy reach for both her and Xiao Luohan.

“I feel even more relaxed these past few days,” Xiao Luohan said, picking up a bag of shredded beef jerky. “But… is the whole world like this?”

“Everyone is relaxing during the New Year,” Jiang Xue said, taking a bag of cheese popcorn. “Students and teachers have two long vacations a year, one winter break and a two-month summer break… oh, and even a three-month break after the college entrance exam.”

“But most other jobs have to work all year round, only taking time off during legal holidays, and the New Year’s holiday is the second longest after National Day.”

She opened the popcorn and offered some to Xiao Luohan. “Anyway, just relax. As my sister would say, ‘there’s plenty of work after the New Year.'”

Xiao Luohan smiled and nodded, taking the popcorn from her hand.

When Jiang Xue came to her senses, her fingertip was slightly damp.

If she didn’t know about Xiao Luo’s feelings for her, she would have just felt a tingling sensation and brushed it off. But she had already been kissed by Xiao Luo while she had a cold. Experiencing such intimacy again, it was hard not to overthink.

—It was intentional, right? Not an accident?

The popcorn piece was only the size of her thumbnail, and she had held it further back. Normally, eating it wouldn’t… uh, anyway, it wouldn’t touch her finger.

Despite the chaos in her mind, Jiang Xue maintained her composure.

She would maintain her “oblivious” act to the end!

Therefore, when Xiao Luohan, in return, offered her some shredded beef jerky, although she accepted it with her mouth, she did so very carefully, even feeling a sense of righteousness emanating from her.

The Spring Festival Gala hadn’t started yet, and Xiao Luohan still had the time and energy to observe Jiang Xue.

Actually, she had been observing for a while, and after reviewing their past interactions, she was even more certain that Jiang Xue wouldn’t resist her “crossing the line” actions.

And Jiang Xue actually knew.

She knew that some things were only appropriate between lovers, yet she still indulged her.

Was this also a form of “tolerance”? Or did Jiang Xue simply not want to disappoint her?

Or… was this the rare “mutual affection”?

Unfortunately, there was still a long time until the end of the college entrance exam. All she could do was test the waters, not pry and ask directly.

Speaking of which, were there any opportunities recently for her to test the waters again?

She really wanted to kiss Jiang Xue, but was afraid of being questioned and losing the opportunity for close contact before the college entrance exam.

Time ticked by as they both pondered, lost in their own thoughts. At 8:00 PM sharp, the dark screen displayed the loading icon.

“It’s starting!” Jiang Xue finished her last snack, threw away the packaging, washed her hands, and sat in front of the computer, her eyes shining. “By the way, do you want a surprise, or do you want to see the program list? The host’s opening speech will take a while. If you want the program list, we can search for it now.”

“It’s fine, I don’t need the program list,” Xiao Luohan shook her head, her gaze fixed on the screen, which was now displaying festive colors.

Just then, she suddenly thought of something.

Whether it was watching the fireworks or now, watching the Spring Festival Gala, Jiang Xue was actually just accompanying her.

Then, while she was focused on the fireworks and the programs, where did Jiang Xue’s gaze fall?

Was it on her? To be precise, on her face? Jiang Xue would observe her expressions, right? And then use that as a reference and inspiration for finding “interesting activities” for her next time.

Then what if… she wasn’t watching the fireworks or the programs, but also looking at Jiang Xue?

What would her reaction be? Panic? Or shyness?

Xiao Luohan, truly capable of multitasking, decided to try it, not waiting for a future opportunity, but using tonight’s Spring Festival Gala.