A gust of cold morning wind blew in her face, and Chen Xi finally seemed to wake up a bit. She then reached up to tidy up the unruly tufts of hair sticking up all over her head, muttering a self-justification:
"It was too noisy last night, and I didn't fall asleep until very late."
"Yes, yes, you should go brush your teeth and wash your face first. I have to go out to visit relatives and friends for the New Year soon. You can play at home by yourself for a while."
Since the two of them had no kinship, the relatives that Chen Junqian was going to visit for the New Year were not Chen Xi's relatives, so he couldn't bring them along. However, Chen Xi had come to Chen Junqian's place to avoid the New Year's greetings that she didn't like at all, so she nodded knowingly and said that she would just wait for him to come back at home.
However, this doesn't mean that you only need to visit relatives during the Spring Festival. Just like in previous years, many people who wanted to use his father's connections would come to Chen Xi's house during the Spring Festival to try to build rapport. Compared to previous years, Chen Jun also needs to visit one more relative who is not a relative on the first day of the Lunar New Year this year.
That was Chairman Xu, who entrusted him with an important task at the end of last year and took the initiative to promote him to be the head of the branch factory.
Actually, Chen Junqian didn't need to be brought along, since it was just a matter of thanking the leader for promoting him. But considering that he might be using his son's connections, Chen Junqian still brought him along.
However, to be honest, this was actually Chen Junqian's first time visiting Xu Youwei's home.
Of course, at this time, the young lady, who was also lying in bed hugging a teddy bear, was unaware of this.
Because she was still reliving the dream she had last night after watching the movie "2012".
If after the apocalypse, only these two humans are left on Earth.
...Well, there seems to be no other way!
Chapter 5: Oh right, so I was actually Mu Mu's friend after all (Two Chapters Combined)
Just like the unsolved mysteries of the world that are commonly found in bookstores at this time, such as mysterious UFO incidents, the mysterious Bermuda Triangle, and the Pharaoh's curse, children are always naturally curious about these things that are half true and half false, with a bit of the unknown and curiosity. Books such as "The Adventure Tigers" and the Charlie IX series published this year have also used these as gimmicks many times.
Although they will all eventually, like the CCTV program "Approaching Science" back then, provide a dubious scientific conclusion in the explanation section of each standalone story, which is either a charade or obviously just a way to fool children.
And without a doubt, Xu Youwei, who has always been a lover of this type of book, has never lacked all sorts of fantastical imaginations that can be expanded upon from it.
However, compared to the Bermuda Triangle, which she probably will never visit in her lifetime, and the UFO sightings, the idea of the 2012 doomsday is obviously much more appealing to her, since next year really is 2012!
Even though Xu Youwei wasn't entirely clear about the specific source and scientific basis of this claim, and didn't even know where the Mayan civilization was located or how many years ago it existed, or what kind of calendar it was based on, the statement that "the ancient and mysterious Mayan civilization predicted that 2012 would be the end of the old world and the beginning of the new world" sounded really cool.
Xu Youwei was never a well-behaved child. If at first she wanted to vent her dissatisfaction with her father in this way after a major change in her family, later she actually came to enjoy the feeling of exploring the unknown and going on adventures.
If the homeroom teacher were to conduct a survey in the class at this time, asking students what career they wanted to pursue in the future, she would probably fill in something like a detective or explorer without hesitation.
It was precisely because of this that after seeing the mysterious doomsday prophecy of 2012 in the book, Hsu Yu-Wei immediately sought out the disaster film "2012" which was filmed in 2009, and watched it twice on the night of Lunar New Year's Eve, to the point that she had related dreams all night.
However, she wasn't interested in the stereotypical male protagonist in Western movies who was divorced, had an ex-wife, loved children and family, and was a hero. She was more interested in the movie's portrayal of disasters and human self-rescue measures, specifically the Noah's Ark project.
As a classic story from the Bible, Hsu Yu-Wei had certainly heard of the name Noah's Ark and knew its meaning.
However, unlike the high-tech achievement in the movie, which was secretly built by various countries several years in advance and contained the essence of human civilization and all existing animal and plant embryos and DNA data, in her dream, the shape of the ship was more like the description in the Bible, just a simple little boat.
More accurately, it was actually closer to the water balloon in the park where she and Chen Junqian had played more than once. The two of them would float on it, collecting supplies that drifted by like Robinson Crusoe, and then suddenly realize that the world seemed to have been destroyed, and that only the two of them were left on this planet called Earth.
There are two people.
Well, it wasn't until Chen Junqian himself went up the stairs, found the door to Xu Youwei's room that the other party's father pointed to, and pushed the door open that he could still see Xu Youwei covered with half a blanket, the other half of which had been kicked off the bed. She was holding a large orange bear pillow, and seemed to have just had a good dream, muttering some incoherent words like "Ya something Xia something".
This was the second time Chen Junqian had woken her up today. However, unlike his younger sister, whom he had to personally help get dressed and drag out of bed, Xu Youwei jumped straight out of bed the moment he called her name, looking at him with an incredulous expression.
"Why is Qinqin in my room?"
As she spoke, she quickly glanced out the window again:
"Is this really the end of the world? Isn't it only 2011?"
"...What kind of dream are you having? Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. My dad brought me to your house to wish you a happy new year. My uncle said you haven't gotten up yet, so he asked me to come and wake you up. I'll wait for you in the living room downstairs."
Unlike at home, where her father was downstairs watching, Chen Junqian certainly wouldn't stay in Xu Youwei's room any longer.
Moreover, unlike her younger sister, Xu Youwei, who is about to enter the sixth grade, has also entered the secondary sexual characteristics development period of girls. Although she is not very obvious when she wears thick clothes at school, she is still quite eye-catching when she is wearing only the innermost layer of cotton underwear.
"Oh, oh."
Blinking her eyes, seemingly trying to grasp the situation, Xu Youwei got out of bed without even putting on her shoes. She slammed the door shut first, then belatedly shivered and quickly shrank back into the covers on her own bed.
"Okay, so I guess I'm still in bed and Qinqin didn't wake me up right away, so I'll just sit there and chat with her for now. Maybe if we chat for a while, I'll wake up and want to get out of bed."
As she spoke, Xu Youwei laboriously pulled one hand out from under the covers and pointed to a chair in front of the desk next to Chen Junqian, indicating that he should sit there:
"This is clearly Qinqin's first time in my room, right? How can she only stay for a short while? Please sit down, feel free to look around—"
Since Xu Youwei had already put it this way, Chen Junqian had no choice but to sit in the spot where she usually sat doing her homework and reading, and then casually glanced at the room's furnishings.
Unlike Lin Mu's family, Xu Youwei's family lived in a detached three-story villa with exquisite overall decoration. Therefore, in terms of bedroom size alone, it even felt larger than Lin Mu's.
However, unlike Lin Mu's room, which was meticulously decorated with girlish touches everywhere, Xu Youwei's bedroom gave Chen Junqian a first impression of being spacious. Apart from the wallpaper and other general decorations, it seemed that only the orange Winnie the Pooh bear on her bed had any sense of a girl's bedroom.
However, it's also possible that he simply had his psychological threshold raised by Lin Mu's room decor, and developed some unnecessary expectations about a girl's bedroom.
"Hmm...it's quite clean."
"After all, I only sleep in here, so clean is enough. Back in school, I didn't spend as much time here as I did with you at school."
Xu Youwei, who was hiding under the covers, chuckled twice upon hearing this.
"Is it just you and your father living at home now?"
"No, it's just that neither of them is here today."
"Not here today?"
"Well, they must have left before you came. They went back to their parents' home. After all, my dad is entertaining guests at home in the morning and going to my grandma's in the afternoon, so they don't need to stay. My dad will go there tomorrow. It's the second day of the Lunar New Year, so they're going back to their parents' home, hehe."
When Xu Youwei said this, her tone was full of self-deprecation and teasing, which made Chen Junqian unsure how to respond. After all, it was a family matter, and judging from his brief contact with her father and the way Xu Youwei was treated, Xu Zhiling seemed to know that he had done something wrong and hurt his daughter.
"Forget about these unhappy things. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes on the first day of the new year was Qinqin. I feel like my luck will improve for the whole year to come—"
"I didn't know there was such a saying?"
Thinking about how he opened his eyes that morning and saw a tiny, white foot that was almost stuffed into his mouth, Chen Junqian couldn't imagine what strange direction his luck had taken this year.
"Yes, because my mood has improved. Being in a good mood on the first day of the new year will definitely have an impact on the whole year to come."
As she spoke, Xu Youwei brought up the dream she had last night, which still left a deep impression on her. However, she first asked Chen Junqian indirectly, "Do you know about the prophecy of the 2012 doomsday?"
"The 2012 doomsday prophecy... I remember it was a Mayan prophecy, but there's no scientific basis for it. It's just the end of an old cycle in their calendar. To give you an example, it's like 1999 becoming 2000?"
"But there are also many mysterious legends about 1999. It's just that it seems that everyone who experienced it had to sign a secret contract, so those of us who didn't experience it don't know exactly what happened back then."
Okay, this is another internet meme that never goes out of style.
As someone who truly lived through 2012 and, aside from graduating from elementary school and moving, experienced nothing else major, Chen Junqian naturally knew that this prophecy was pure fiction. However, seeing Xu Youwei's unwavering belief in it, and remembering that she often enjoyed reading such things, he went along with her and continued to ask:
"So what exactly was that day?"
"December 21, 2012, is said to be the exact date of the end of the world, which is about one year and ten months away from now. In the movie, by this time, various countries have almost finished building Noah's Ark."
"The movie? Oh, you mean '2012'?"
"Yeah, I just watched it last night."
"Watching a disaster movie like this on New Year's Eve? I feel like it's better to watch it during the Lantern Festival?"
"What?"
"Because after the Lantern Festival comes the big disaster movie 'Back to School,' starring the students themselves, so have you finished your winter break homework?"
As he spoke, Chen Junqian picked up a winter break homework book from the desk next to him, and frowned after flipping through a couple of pages:
"Isn't it completely untouched?"
"Ahem, it'll be finished after the New Year, no problem, no problem."
As it turns out, Xu Youwei, who was just talking about the end of the world, was brought back to reality by the words "winter vacation homework". She was lying on the bed with her chin propped up, but now she was lying there like a salted fish, having lost all her dreams.
"So what does 'after the New Year, after the fifteenth' mean?"
"After the third day of the Lunar New Year, since the most lively days of the Lunar New Year are the New Year's Eve, the first day, and the second day."
"Oh, so would you like to come over to my place to do your homework?"
Wanting to see if doing homework together could be assessed by the system's evaluation of learning ability, Chen Junqian naturally extended this invitation.
"Where? Your grandma's house? Or the wear-resistant factory area?"
"Grandma's house, since I stayed there during winter break."
Am I the only one?
"For now, it's just you."
"What do you mean by 'temporary'?"
"Because I think I'll call out 'Mu Mu' again later."
It seemed that only now did Xu Youwei belatedly remember that she was still Lin Mu's friend, and she coughed twice, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Indeed, to be honest, I would have called her even if you hadn't. Mu Mu is probably just like me, she definitely hasn't finished her homework."
Feeling that if they continued talking behind closed doors, Xu Zhiling might just corner them and beat them up, Chen Junqian stood up again and urged Xu Youwei on:
"Alright, now you can get up obediently. It's already past nine o'clock. But the sun hasn't been shining much today, so I can't say anything more like 'the sun is already high in the sky' to you."
"It's good that the sun isn't out. I saw that it snowed quite a lot last night. Has it piled up yet?"
"Just a little bit. There's not much on the ground, but there's quite a bit piled up in other places. You want to build a snowman too?"
"What do you mean by 'me too'?"
"nothing."
"What is it!"
Feeling that if he didn't explain things clearly on the spot, Xu Youwei, who had just crawled out of bed and was half-dressed, would shrink back down again, Chen Junqian had no choice but to explain again:
"My sister asked me to help her build a snowman this morning."
"Oh, you mean that fourth-grade student who always comes to our class to find you? I think his name is Chen Xi?"
"Yes, it's her."
Easily swayed by the word "sister," Xu Youwei continued what she was doing, methodically putting on one piece of clothing after another, while casually replying:
"You two siblings have such a good relationship."
"Where are you and your sister?"
This was probably the first time Chen Junqian had taken the initiative to ask about the two people. Xu Youwei was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then she pursed her lips:
“I don’t play with little kids, especially these little brats who are only in first grade this year.”
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