Why did the system take my request to take photos with a cosplayer seriously?

Ding Heng remained expressionless; he had come to Zhuzhou solely to see Zhao Yanxi.

Zhao Yanxi immediately pouted: "What time is it? I finally managed to come out..."

"The day after tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve. If you don't stay home, won't your parents nag you?"

"Let him keep talking..."

Zhao Yanxi mumbled something, but her tone noticeably weakened.

"Stop fooling around."

Ding Heng reached out and gently patted the girl's head: "Go back and have a good New Year. There will be plenty of time after the New Year."

"Does she want you to be with her...?"

"It'll only be a few days, just bear with it and it'll pass."

Don't you want to spend more time with me?

"think."

"Then why did you kick me out..."

Ding Heng was both amused and exasperated. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, whispering something in her ear.

Zhao Yanxi's ears turned bright red instantly. She stepped out of Ding Heng's arms and glared at him: "You said it, you can't go back on your word."

"No regrets."

Ding Heng smiled meaningfully.

The three got into the car and returned to the residential area.

Zhao Yanxi turned to Wenjing beside her, leaned over and hugged her: "Little Jingjing, see you after the New Year!"

Wenjing was equally reluctant to part: "Yanxi, bye-bye..."

Zhao Yanxi got out of the car, took a couple of steps, then turned back and waved to them: "Drive carefully!"

As the car started, Zhao Yanxi's figure grew smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.

Wenjing moved to the passenger seat and sat down, obedient and quiet.

Ding Heng glanced at her: "Do you want to go home and see your family? Or go see Wen Shu?"

Wenjing shook her head.

"That……"

"Ding Heng".

Wenjing suddenly spoke, interrupting Ding Heng.

"Ok?"

"Tang Zhi just called me over..."

Wenjing hesitated and said, "She showed me Yan hope's WeChat Moments, as well as a photo of you two together."

Ding Heng didn't speak, waiting for her to continue.

"She thought Yan hope was cheating on me with you..."

"what do you say?"

I told her I would handle it and to keep quiet.

"She meant well."

Ding Heng was both amused and exasperated, while Wen Jing sullenly lowered her head.

"That's why I don't know how to say it... Ding Heng, do you think it's strange for us to act this way in other people's eyes?"

Wenjing twisted the seatbelt with her fingers, as if she wanted to braid it into a rope.

"Tang Zhi was my junior high classmate, we weren't that close, but she still thinks it's abnormal. What about later? What if our family finds out? What if Yan hope's family finds out?"

"Quiet".

Ding Heng pulled the car over to the side of the road, turned around to face her, and asked, "Are you scared?"

"I'm afraid."

Wenjing honestly admitted, "I'm especially worried about Yanxi. Her parents are both prominent figures; they would never understand or accept this..."

Ding Heng said seriously, "There are some things we have to face sooner or later, but I can guarantee that no matter who asks or when they ask, I can clearly tell them that I am your man!"

Yan hope is the same; what's meant to happen will happen eventually. I never intended to hide it forever, and I'm confident I can handle it.

"Can……"

Wenjing wanted to say something more, but Ding Heng interrupted her.

"Let me ask you... When you were a kid, if you didn't do your homework, did you think you were doomed? Later in high school, if you didn't do well on a test once or twice, did you feel the same worry and fear? But now, looking back, do you just think you were childish and ridiculous?"

Wenjing nodded blankly, while Ding Heng continued muttering.

"It's the same now. You think that if our relationship is discovered, it will be a huge disaster because we are still freshmen in college who haven't entered society yet."

When you, or rather I, have enough money and social status, I will simply smile calmly at the strange looks from others.

Ding Heng vigorously rubbed the round face in front of him, his tone light: "Sometimes you really need to learn from Yan hope. It's so good to be carefree, and you even dare to play pranks on things like this!"

"Oh……"

Wenjing was confused and clueless.

Zhao Yanxi's behavior was indeed completely different from hers; she wasn't afraid at all of outsiders discovering their abnormal relationship.

Ding Heng chuckled, "The reason Yan hope dared to do this is because she trusts me. She believes I can handle everything. Don't you trust me?"

Wenjing quickly and loudly replied, "I...I definitely believe it!"

"Isn't that settled then?"

Ding Heng released the girl, restarted the vehicle, and drove onto the highway towards Xingcheng.

Wenjing leaned back in her chair, her unease somewhat alleviated by Ding Heng's words, but some lingering feelings remained.

She looked down at the gold bracelet on her wrist, then at Ding Heng's profile as he drove, and let out a soft breath.

Forget it, why think so much?

Just obediently follow Ding Heng.

……

The next morning, Ding Heng took Wenjing to her maternal grandmother's house.

The festive atmosphere in the old street was much stronger than in the city, with red couplets pasted on the doors of every household.

After finishing lunch, Ding Heng handed the little white rabbit over to his grandparents and then returned to the villa.

Upon entering, one is greeted by a lively scene.

Qu Zhen was wearing a dark blue apron with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and she was kneading dough in front of the kitchen counter.

Her movements were swift and precise; with a flick of her wrist and a press, the dough was perfectly compliant in her hands.

Ding Wenjie assisted from the side, responsible for chopping vegetables. His knife skills were average, but he was diligent.

Sister Jiang helped prepare the filling, handing over a bowl or spoon every now and then.

"Little Ding is here?"

Qu Zhen looked up and smiled, "Perfect timing, come and help."

Ding Heng washed his hands and went over to take the rolling pin that Qu Zhen handed him.

"Auntie can make this too?"

"When I was a child, I lived in a pastoral area and had to do all kinds of work."

Qu Zhen's hands never stopped moving, and her tone was casual: "Herding cattle, milking, kneading dough, cooking... I can do it all, but I've become rusty in the last two years."

She pinched off a small piece of dough, rolled it into a thin sheet, wrapped the filling inside, and with a few deft flicks of her fingers, a uniquely shaped "Gutu" was instantly formed.

Ding Heng praised, "Auntie, your skills are just like those of a professional pastry chef."

"There's no skill involved."

Qu Zhen smiled and said, "This thing is called Gutu, which is a Tibetan dumpling. In the pastoral areas, it's considered good if poor people can eat it once during the New Year. I started helping my mother when I was seven or eight years old and have been making dumplings for more than ten years. I'm just good at it."

As she spoke, she shaped another one and placed it on the cutting board.

"Later, I was too busy with business to remember it. It was only when your dad said he wanted to eat some Tibetan food that I remembered it."

Having come from a poor background, certain memories are deeply ingrained in Quzhen's bones.

Pema peeked over at some point, glanced at the gutu on the cutting board, and pouted, "Mother, you're making this again?"

Qu Zhen didn't even turn her head: "It's the New Year, what else should we eat if not this?"

Baima pouted: "Fine, I'll do it then, anyway I'm not eating it."

Qu Zhen turned to look at her: "What did you say?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing."

Baima quickly waved her hand and shrank back into her chair.

Ding Heng watched from the side and couldn't help but laugh.

Qu Zhen wrapped a few more dough wrappers, using up all the wrappers on the cutting board, and patted the flour off her hands: "Alright, let's cook them."

Sister Jiang boiled the water in the pot, and Qu Zhen put the gutu into the pot one by one and put the lid on.

Bai Ma turned to Ding Heng: "Brother."

"Ok?"

"After we finish eating, can you take me out for a late-night snack?"

"Didn't Auntie cook kutsu?"

"Come on!"

Pema rolled her eyes: "You haven't tasted the Tibetan food my mother makes. Can you even call that food?"