Chapter 73

"Happy New Year." Watching the film production team members wish each other a happy and prosperous new year and then bid farewell to go home for the Spring Festival, Xia Hou Zhongying suddenly felt bitter in his heart.

"Zhongying, you haven't left yet?" Li Xiaoli walked over and asked.

"I'm about to go." Xia Hou Zhongying sighed, looking dejected.

"What's wrong? You're not happy about the Spring Festival?" Seeing Xia Hou Zhongying's gloomy face, Li Xiaoli asked in confusion.

"Sister, I can't be happy." Xia Hou Zhongying said.

"Is it because you're not going back to China for the New Year?" Li Xiaoli asked.

"No." Xia Hou Zhongying shook his head.

"Then what's the reason?"

"Sister, I'm going to Jeonju for the New Year." Xia Hou Zhongying said with a bitter smile.

Zheng Mother was very unhappy that Xia Hou Zhongying was not spending the Spring Festival with the Zheng family but instead going to Jeonju. After all, he was her adopted son, and it was uncomfortable for him to spend the festival at someone else's house, especially a girl's house, which made her even more unhappy.

Zheng Father, on the other hand, was more understanding. After hearing Xia Hou Zhongying's explanation, he said that a man must keep his word. Since he had already promised Jin Taeyeon, he couldn't go back on his word. He also consoled Zheng Mother a bit, but she was still upset. However, since the situation couldn't be changed, she had to agree, though she still scolded Xia Hou Zhongying harshly.

"Jeonju?" Li Xiaoli was taken aback. She knew that Xia Hou Zhongying was adopted by Zheng Xiuyan's mother, so she didn't invite him to her own home for the New Year, but she didn't expect him to go to Jeonju instead of the Zheng family.

"Yes, I don't know what got into me, but I agreed to Taeyeon's invitation to spend the New Year at her house."

"That's good, better than spending it alone."

"Sister, it's Taeyeon's father who invited me. Do you think I can be happy? I pushed Taeyeon into the Han River, and I don't know how her whole family will criticize me in Jeonju." Xia Hou Zhongying said gloomily.

"In that case, I can't help you. You'll have to rely on your own luck." Li Xiaoli laughed heartily. "Well, I'll be off. Happy New Year."

"Right, Sister, what kind of gift should I bring to Jeonju?" Remembering that he hadn't bought any gifts, Xia Hou Zhongying quickly pulled Li Xiaoli to ask for advice.

"Anything, really. Food or daily necessities are fine." Li Xiaoli turned and smiled. "In Korea, the range of gifts is quite broad, but food and daily necessities are the main ones. Remember to wrap them up."

"Okay, got it." Xia Hou Zhongying nodded, started packing his things, and then called Jin Taeyeon.

"Taeyeon, where are you?" After the call connected, Xia Hou Zhongying asked.

"Brother Zhongying, I'm still at the company." Jin Taeyeon replied.

"Oh, I'll come over now. I'll contact you when I get there." Xia Hou Zhongying hung up and walked out.

Just as he reached the entrance of S.M. Entertainment, Xia Hou Zhongying saw Jin Taeyeon standing there with a backpack, and beside her was Hwang Miyoung. He was momentarily stunned.

"Brother Zhongying, Pani is also coming to my house for the New Year." Jin Taeyeon said.

Hwang Miyoung's nickname was Pani, and her close friends usually called her that. She was roommates with Jin Taeyeon at S.M. Entertainment.

After Jin Taeyeon finished packing, she saw Hwang Miyoung staring blankly in the dormitory. After hesitating for a while, she finally felt that it was too pitiful for her to be alone, so she invited her to go to Jeonju. Hwang Miyoung was overjoyed and quickly packed two sets of clothes and urged Jin Taeyeon to leave.

Jin Taeyeon was both amused and exasperated; there was no need to be in such a hurry.

"Welcome, welcome." Hearing that Hwang Miyoung was also going to Jeonju, Xia Hou Zhongying was overjoyed. Now, with Hwang Miyoung accompanying them, the Jin family wouldn't criticize him as harshly, especially with an outsider present, which wouldn't look good.

However, his two "welcomes" made it seem like he was the host welcoming a guest, which was a bit awkward, considering he was also a guest.

"Brother Zhongying is here, can we go now?" Since coming to Korea, Hwang Miyoung had only been practicing and filming at the movie set. She had never been outside Seoul, and now she was eager to get to Jeonju.

"Pani, are you really going like this?" Xia Hou Zhongying looked at the anxious Hwang Miyoung and smiled.

"What's wrong?" Hwang Miyoung looked at herself, thinking her clothes were fine, and asked in confusion, "Brother Zhongying, is there something wrong?"

"Are you going empty-handed?" Xia Hou Zhongying was speechless.

"Oh, right." Hwang Miyoung suddenly realized, laughed awkwardly, and asked, "Brother Zhongying, what kind of gift should we buy?"

"I'll take care of it." Since Xia Hou Zhongying decided not to return to China for the New Year, his father, Xia Hou Shang, lifted the economic sanctions and returned his credit card.

Xia Hou Shang's original intention was to train Xia Hou Zhongying, but the results were better than expected, and he was very satisfied with his son's performance. Therefore, he decided to lift the economic sanctions during the New Year. After all, Xia Hou Zhongying was going to someone else's house for the New Year, and it wouldn't do to let him look too shabby and lose face. This gave Xia Hou Zhongying the confidence to say this to Hwang Miyoung.

"Thank you, Brother Zhongying." Hwang Miyoung was overjoyed.

"Let's go, Taeyeon. We'll buy some gifts first before we leave." Xia Hou Zhongying turned to Jin Taeyeon and said.

"Brother Zhongying, actually, you don't need to buy anything. You don't have much money right now." Jin Taeyeon's face turned red. She had invited Xia Hou Zhongying and Hwang Miyoung to her home with good intentions but had forgotten about the custom of bringing gifts for the New Year. She knew that Xia Hou Zhongying had been living a hard life recently, often borrowing money to get by, and now he had to spend money on gifts, which made her feel guilty.

However, going empty-handed on the first visit was very impolite, and she was torn about whether to advise against it or not.

"It's fine, I have money now." Xia Hou Zhongying laughed heartily, showing his credit card to Jin Taeyeon, looking like a nouveau riche, indicating that she shouldn't worry. "My dad gave me back my credit card."

"Let's go, let's go, to buy gifts." Hwang Miyoung, knowing that Xia Hou Zhongying's family was wealthy, felt no psychological barrier now that the economic sanctions were lifted. She happily led the way to the bus stop, acting as the vanguard.

Seeing this, Jin Taeyeon didn't say anything more and followed the two, listening to them discuss what gifts to buy.

"Brother Zhongying, this one is good." After finding a shopping mall near S.M. Entertainment, Hwang Miyoung and Xia Hou Zhongying each pushed a cart, picking up whatever they liked.

"Take two boxes." Xia Hou Zhongying waved his hand generously, feeling the pleasure of spending money after a long time. The feeling of extravagance was truly comfortable, and he seemed to want to make up for all the frustration of the past few months in one go.

"Brother Zhongying, don't buy anymore." Jin Taeyeon, both amused and exasperated, quickly stopped them. "You two have bought too much. How will we carry it all later?"

Xia Hou Zhongying and Hwang Miyoung were taken aback, realizing that the two carts were already full.

"Brother Zhongying, it seems we've bought too much." Hwang Miyoung laughed awkwardly.

"Then let's stop." Xia Hou Zhongying scratched his head and pushed the cart to the checkout.

"Excuse me, can you wrap all the items for me?" While the cashier was counting the items in the two carts, Xia Hou Zhongying remembered Li Xiaoli's advice to wrap the gifts and asked the cashier.

The cashier almost fainted at Xia Hou Zhongying's request. There were at least eighty to a hundred items in the two carts, and wrapping them all would take forever. She was on the verge of tears.