Going home for the Chinese New Year with a year-end bonus of 100 million

"Just for today, whatever you say, brother." Yang Fan felt a mix of sadness and tenderness in his heart.

"Look how cold you are, have something warm to eat. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Yang Ya couldn't resist him, so he half-pushed her into a bright and warm-looking chain restaurant.

As soon as you enter, the aroma of warmth and food hits you.

After we sat down, the waiter brought us the menu.

Yang Fan handed the menu directly to Yang Ya: "Take a look and see what you want to eat, order whatever you like."

Yang Ya took the menu, glanced at the prices, and immediately frowned.

A single meal costs thirty or forty yuan.

She closed the menu and said to the waiter:

"Please give us two bowls of rice, a hot and sour shredded potato, and a seaweed and egg drop soup."

"Xiaoya!" Yang Fan brought the menu back.

"This isn't enough for us. We're still growing," he said directly to the waiter.

"I'd like this braised pork ribs set meal, a steamed fish, and two hot soy milks. Hurry up and bring them out."

"Brother!" Yang Ya was anxious. She reached out to stop the waiter but failed. She turned to Yang Fan, both angry and anxious.

"Why did you order so much! One set meal is enough! That steamed fish is so expensive! We can't finish it! We'll have to spend money when we go home for Chinese New Year, so every little bit helps!"

Seeing her face flushed with anxiety, her eyes wide open, filled with genuine heartache and reproach, Yang Fan felt a surge of warmth in his heart and almost burst into tears.

His sister, despite being freezing herself, was only thinking about saving him money and about the family.

In his opinion, and given his current financial situation, this amount of money is really nothing to him.

However, he knew his sister too well; if he forced himself on her at this moment, she would be unhappy.

"Okay, okay, I was wrong, I was wrong," Yang Fan quickly reassured him.

"Refund the fish, just one set meal, plus some shredded potatoes, okay? You should at least have some soy milk, hot, to warm your stomach."

Yang Ya reluctantly nodded, but still muttered to herself:

"One set meal is enough for the two of us, and we can also add some shredded potatoes... and soy milk... that would be fine too."

Her meticulous way of calculating made Yang Fan feel both sorry for her and want to laugh.

While waiting for her food, Yang Ya took her hands out of her pockets and placed them on the table. Her fingers were red from the cold, and there were even tiny cracks at her knuckles.

Yang Fan felt a pang in his heart.

"Why didn't you go home for winter break? What were you doing out there all by yourself?" Yang Fan asked.

"It's fine to go back; staying at home just means more mouths to feed." Yang Ya lowered her head, picking at the hangnails around her fingernails.

"Here... I can find something to do and earn some living expenses."

"What kind of work did you find? Is it tiring?" Yang Fan asked.

"Just... handing out flyers, helping out at bubble tea shops and stuff, it's not tiring," Yang Ya said vaguely, but the fatigue in her eyes was undeniable.

Yang Fan knew she was definitely not telling the truth, or she had only told the most relaxed part.

But he didn't expose him; he just said, "Be careful, don't push yourself too hard. I'll take care of the money."

Yang Ya looked up at him, her eyes filled with complex emotions—disbelief, worry—which ultimately boiled down to one sentence:

"You need to take good care of yourself while you're out there... Why didn't you come home for Chinese New Year last year?"

"Are you having some kind of trouble?"

She finally asked the question that had been on her mind for a long time, her tone not accusatory, but full of worry.

Yang Fan's nose tingled, and he shook his head: "No, it's just... the work wasn't arranged well."

"It won't happen again. I'll definitely come back this year. I'll take you back with me."

Yang Ya stared at him for a few seconds, seemingly trying to find any trace of lying on his face, and finally gave a soft "Mmm," without asking any further questions, only saying, "...It's good that you're back. Mom and Dad miss you a lot."

The food arrived, its aroma irresistible. The braised pork ribs were glossy and flavorful, the shredded potatoes were tangy and spicy, and the hot soy milk steamed gently.

Yang Ya looked at the food in front of her and subconsciously swallowed, but she picked up her spoon first and put the ribs into Yang Fan's bowl one by one: "Brother, eat more meat, you've been working hard."

"You eat yours, I'll do it myself." Yang Fan put the ribs back in his bowl.

"I can't eat that much!" Yang Ya blocked his chopsticks, insisting on putting most of the ribs on his side, leaving only a few small pieces for herself. Then she picked up her rice bowl and ate quickly in small bites, even mixing the soup with the rice, finishing it all.

Looking at her thin profile and the way she was focused on eating, Yang Fan felt a pang of tenderness and pain in his heart.

He silently pushed his soy milk towards his sister.

"Brother, you drink..."

"I'll have the soup, you can have the soy milk to warm your hands," Yang Fan said without further ado.

Yang Ya glanced at him, then stopped refusing. She picked up the warm soy milk cup with both hands and took small sips, the steam blurring her eyes behind her glasses.

The meal was quickly finished, and after paying the bill, we left the restaurant.

A gust of cold wind blew, and Yang Ya immediately shrank her neck again, pulling the zipper of her old down jacket up hard.

Yang Fan felt a pang of sadness as he looked at her nose, which was red from the cold.

"Xiaoya," he stopped and turned to look at his sister, "Come on, let's go buy some things."

Yang Ya paused for a moment, then looked up in confusion: "Buy something? Buy what?"

"Look how cold it is, and your clothes are so worn out!" Yang Fan pointed to the down jacket she was wearing with faded cuffs. "I'll take you to buy some nicer clothes."

"No, no!" Yang Ya immediately shook her head, taking a half-step back like a startled rabbit. "Brother, are you crazy? Why buy new clothes! My clothes are still wearable and warm enough!"

As she spoke, she patted her down jacket hard, making a dull sound, as if that would prove how thick the jacket was.

"Warmth of what?" Yang Fan reached out and pinched her sleeve:

"How thin is this? You were stamping your feet from the cold before dinner, did you think I didn't see that?"

"That's because it's windy today..." Yang Ya was still struggling, but her voice trailed off.

Yang Fan sighed.

He knew that if he didn't tell the truth, his sister would never spend his money.

This girl has been stubborn since she was little, and her maturity is heartbreaking.

He stepped forward, gently placed his hands on Yang Ya's shoulders, and made her look into his eyes.

"Xiaoya, listen to your brother." Yang Fan's tone was very serious. "You don't need to save money for your brother. I'm making money now."

Yang Ya blinked, her eyes full of disbelief: "How much money can you make? Don't lie to me, don't I know how much you make?"

She paused, her voice softening, "Besides, even if you really made money, wouldn't you use it yourself?"

"Wouldn't it be better to save it for getting married and buying a house?"

"I really don't need you to spend money on me, I just need you to come home for Chinese New Year every year."

"Brother, I know what you're thinking." Yang Ya looked up, her eyes a little red.

"Aren't you just too embarrassed to go back?"

"I feel like I haven't made a name for myself."

"But actually, your mom, dad, and I miss you a lot, really."

"We don't care how much you earn, as long as you come back."