The days at home flew by.

Before they knew it, three days had passed.

Early on New Year's Eve, Xu Ye drove Old Zhang and Old Xu to Red Leaf Estate. Xu Ye already treated the place like home, but it was Old Zhang and Old Xu's first visit. They were a little stiff at first, but as everyone got talking they relaxed, and before long they were all pitching in on New Year's Eve dinner.

Xu Ye and Chen Qingqing had nothing to do, so they sat on the sofa with their phones, chatting with roommates and coworkers.

Zhang Ruowei's and Zhao Ming's parents had met a couple of days earlier too. Over the last month or two of the year, things between her and Zhao Ming had taken a huge leap forward. When they'd first started dating, she had meant to control the pace and take it slow. But somewhere along the way, she'd lost the brakes.

What does it feel like to like someone?

You think about him when you eat. You think about him in class. You think about him when you listen to music. You even think about him when you sleep.

Zhang Ruowei had called Chen Qingqing love-brained more times than she could count. Without even noticing, she'd turned love-brained herself.

She'd stirred up plenty of trouble with Zhao Ming, but in front of his parents she'd always been on her best behavior. The parents' meeting had gone very well on both sides.

After Qin Zhiwei got home, Xu Ye had gone to see him once. But Qin Zhiwei never knew. Xu Ye had stood at the door, seen him sitting alone in his room reading, and quietly left.

They were brothers who had "once" been through hard times together, and Xu Ye was willing to share his good fortune with him. But he also knew Qin Zhiwei had a lot of pride. If he just handed him things with no strings attached, it would only plant other ideas in his head.

For now, all Xu Ye could do was watch from the sidelines…