Overnight at Tian's house

Tian Fujun walked over from the inner room, holding a bottle of moutai.

"Today, on Little New Year's Eve, let's drink something good... This is from my private collection... Come, Brother Zhao, have a couple of drinks with me..."

"Alright... Second Uncle, let's drink to our heart's content today..." Zhao Dongchuan naturally couldn't back down, saying with a chuckle. He had never been afraid of anyone when it came to drinking.

Everyone took their seats. Zhao Dongchuan sat next to Tian Fujun, Xu Aiyun sat next to her father Xu Guoqiang, and Tian Runye sat to the left of Zhao Dongchuan and to the right of Tian Xiaoxia.

The six of them ate and chatted, bursting into laughter from time to time.

It was a truly lively Little New Year's Eve.

"Brother Zhao, what are your plans for the future?"

Tian Fujun picked up the wine bottle and poured Zhao Dongchuan a drink, his slightly flushed face full of smiles.

"Second Uncle, I plan to take Runye back to the capital for New Year's... I wonder if it might be a bit rushed..."

Zhao Dongchuan had drunk a lot, but he wasn't drunk at all; he was perfectly sober. With his current physique, being able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk was no exaggeration.

"Hmm, good, good, good... Runye isn't young anymore. After New Year's, she'll be twenty-four by traditional reckoning. It's high time she got married... I'm not putting pressure on you; you two can discuss and decide this yourselves. Sooner or later is fine..."

Zhao Dongchuan raised his glass, lowering it half a centimeter in respect as he toasted Tian Fujun, saying, "Second Uncle, for this matter, I mainly defer to Runye. My thought is that sooner is also fine..."

Tian Fujun suddenly remembered something and asked with some hesitation, "You rascal, you've turned twenty, haven't you?"

"Yes, I turned twenty a few months ago..." Zhao Dongchuan said, a little awkwardly.

"Hahaha, good, good, good... Come, let's have one!" Tian Fujun laughed and clinked glasses with him again.

Zhao Dongchuan naturally knew why Tian Fujun asked that. The current marriage law stipulated that men had to be at least twenty and women at least eighteen to register their marriage. If he wasn't old enough, it would definitely have to be postponed.

Tian Runye, sitting nearby, had vaguely overheard some of it. Her face was already slightly flushed from the wine, and now it turned even redder.

Tian Xiaoxia found Runye's appearance very amusing and decided to tease her. She leaned down and whispered to Runye, "Sister Runye... you look so charming like this... you're going to completely captivate Brother Zhao..."

Runye heard Xiaoxia teasing her like that, picked up a piece of meat, and stuffed it into Xiaoxia's mouth.

"You have food to eat, and it still can't shut your mouth..."

"Hehe..." Xiaoxia chewed and swallowed the meat, then made a slight funny face.

This made Tian Runye laugh, and the two of them burst into giggles.

Zhao Dongchuan saw Runye and Xiaoxia happily chatting beside him and was also very pleased. He joined in the fun and asked, "What are you two talking about?"

Tian Runye quickly said, "Nothing much..."

Tian Xiaoxia deliberately put on an adult tone and said with a chuckle, "We're talking about when you're going to marry Sister Runye and take her home..."

"Hehe, about that, of course, I hope it's as soon as possible..." Zhao Dongchuan looked at Tian Runye with a hint of tipsiness.

Don't ask where the tipsiness came from; people get drunk even if the wine doesn't make them!

This made Tian Runye incredibly shy, and she just kept her head down, eating her food.

Seeing this, everyone burst into laughter.

As they ate, the conversation inevitably turned to Tian Xiaoxia.

"Xiaoxia, you've graduated from high school. What are your plans next?" Zhao Dongchuan asked Xiaoxia.

"I'm going to work in the nearby countryside..."

"She's going to the rural areas in the suburbs to participate in manual labor. For now, I'm having her go to adapt in advance, in case she can't handle the intensity of the labor all at once..." Tian Fujun said with a smile.

"It's good that it's close to home; I can go straight home after work..."

"I heard from Shaoping that you two often study together... Remember to keep studying even after graduation..." Zhao Dongchuan mentioned, with a slight hint.

Tian Fujun heard Zhao Dongchuan's words and seemed to be deep in thought.

"And Runye... if you have an idea... I can teach you..." Zhao Dongchuan turned to Runye and said.

Tian Runye nodded; she knew what he meant.

"You mean the college entrance exam? I know, Shaoping told me about it..." Tian Xiaoxia replied casually.

"I believe the country is in urgent need of talent right now... so I speculate that the restoration of the college entrance exam is very likely... You can all just take my words as drunken ramblings..."

Now that Zhao Dongchuan was dating Runye, he naturally hoped to give everyone a little heads-up. With the "Gang of Four" overthrown, many things could be discussed openly.

This would give Runye and Xiaoxia an extra option, so they wouldn't be caught off guard later.

Naturally, no one would take his words as drunken ramblings. Everything he had said before had come true, and this matter of the college entrance exam... Tian Fujun and the others also began to ponder it secretly.

"Xiaoxia, when you come back from work, read more books on math, physics, and chemistry, and do some exercises... Oh, right, Shaoping is that boy from Yuhou's family, isn't he...? How is he at studying?"

"Shaoping is much better at studying than I am; I ask him for help with so many problems! He told me that Brother Zhao helped him a lot..."

"Good, good, good... You young people should communicate more... and learn from each other..."

Tian Fujun looked at Zhao Dongchuan, and he didn't know what he was thinking, but he nodded and said with a smile... Soon, the lively dinner ended. Now there was a rather awkward question: Where would Zhao Dongchuan stay?

He had come in a hurry today and had "forgotten" to register a room at the guesthouse, so he had nowhere to stay.

"Brother Zhao... it's very late now, don't run around anymore... You can rest in Xiaoxia's brother's room. He's gone to college, so his room has been empty..."

Tian Fujun was a bit drunk and said, slurring his words.

Runye was naturally very happy and quickly busied herself with Second Aunt to prepare bedding for Zhao Dongchuan... Zhao Dongchuan nodded impassively, but in reality, he was already beaming with joy inside.

Before long, the room was tidied up.

In the room, Tian Runye made the bed and said to Zhao Dongchuan, somewhat shyly, "Dongchuan, the bed is made... And these are the towel, toothbrush, and cup I prepared for you; they're all new..."

Tian Runye handed the enamel washbasin filled with toiletries to Zhao Dongchuan.

Zhao Dongchuan took the enamel washbasin with one hand, and while everyone else was away, he wrapped his arm around Tian Runye and whispered in her ear, "Thank you, our Runye is so good to me!"

In an instant, Tian Runye's face flushed, and her body felt a little weak.

"You're going to kill me, Second Uncle and Second Aunt will see us..."

Tian Runye said this, but she didn't struggle; instead, she slumped into Zhao Dongchuan's arms, her face crimson.

At this moment, everyone was intentionally or unintentionally giving the two of them space to be alone and naturally wouldn't come to disturb them.

"Hahahaha... No, no one's here right now..."

Zhao Dongchuan hugged her for a while, then released her, steadying Tian Runye.

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore... Let's go brush our teeth and wash our faces together..."

"Mmm..." Tian Runye managed to stand steady, and in a barely audible whisper, she replied, then followed Zhao Dongchuan to brush her teeth and wash her face.