Spring Festival Gala 2
No one knows which year it started, but the Spring Festival Gala has been criticized every year. Despite the criticism, it remains the indisputable champion in viewership and the most exposed event of the year.
For the former Zhuang Yiyun, the Spring Festival Gala had become unfamiliar long ago. He used to watch it when his grandmother was alive, but later, he never bothered. There was never a festive atmosphere at home. He always had endless questions to answer, and books to read—how could he find time for the Spring Festival Gala? Until he met Yan Yan…
First, they celebrated the New Year at his place, which was one of the warmest memories in his life. Then, during these three years at the base, since everyone couldn’t go home, they would organize a group dinner and watch the Spring Festival Gala. So now, he is no stranger to the Spring Festival Gala.
Sitting in the audience, at a table with familiar former comrades, Zhuang Yiyun thought about the previous galas he had seen. When the camera scanned the audience, it usually focused on celebrities, so he was quite relaxed. What he didn’t know was that he was truly eye-catching. Photographers favored beauty, especially those with such a striking appearance like him.
The cameramen loved to capture him, and as soon as the director saw his status and the combination of his temperament and looks, he sensed that he would be the first highlight of this year’s Spring Festival Gala. Therefore, the first cut to the audience focused on him. Real-time online data monitoring showed that the discussion immediately skyrocketed. So, when scanning the audience, he appeared six out of ten times. He was either in a group shot or a close-up, even experts like Professor Xun also frequently appeared.
Yan Yan and the others were watching at home and Qian Ruqing couldn’t help but praise, “Ah Xian, you are really good at giving birth. Xiao Yiyun is handsome, smart, and is popular everywhere, even the cameramen love to shoot him.”
After saying this, she turned to Zhuang Yiyun’s boyfriend and asked, “Mr. Mei, what do you think?”
“You are absolutely right. Moreover, scientists are something I, a businessman with the smell of money all over me, can never reach in this lifetime.”
Qian Ruqing was originally casually testing the other party’s attitude toward her son-in-law, but she didn’t expect such a solemn response. It was a bit too high-flying. Although it was a fact, it felt a little awkward to say such things within the family.
She hurriedly said, “You are being too modest. A prominent entrepreneur like you influences the survival and happiness of so many families.”
Mr. Mei wanted to say something but was interrupted by Yan Yan. He suddenly pointed at the TV, his voice turning cold, “Who is this? If you find a skit funny, laugh by yourself. What’s the deal with laughing with my husband? Oh, Li Hongran. I heard she’s excellent at marketing and has hyped up all sorts of shameless topics. Just wait, even if she gets criticized, she’ll still make it to the hot search.”
As the camera cut to the audience, a female celebrity slightly leaned towards Zhuang Yiyun to speak. Zhuang Yiyun was the youngest at their table, and naturally, he sat on the outermost side, so he and the person at the adjacent table lined up like “tablemates.”
The celebrity in that position was Li Hongran, the one Yan Yan mentioned. As the skit was going on, she gestured towards Zhuang Yiyun, and from the wide shot, it wasn’t clear what she was saying. If Zhuang Yiyun completely ignored her, it would have been fine, but he unexpectedly responded with eye contact, and Yan Yan couldn’t tolerate it.
“What’s wrong with him? Shouldn’t he avoid eye contact? He represents the image of national scientists. What’s the meaning of exchanging glances with a female celebrity?” Yan Yan pointed at the TV, questioning and glaring at the four elders.
Zhuang Xian thought his jealousy was a bit cute and wanted to laugh but held it in. It was Qian Ruqing who picked up his words.
“Yan Yan, don’t make trouble out of nothing. How can you call this exchanging glances? It’s just normal courtesy.”
“He doesn’t know her, why would he smile at her and talk to her? And he even politely responded? Zhuang Yiyun, he’s done for!”
Yan Yan was very angry and his tone was fierce. Zhuang Xian wanted to say a few good words for her son. Thinking of the “Twelve Golden Rules for Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Relations” she had just read, the first rule was not to protect her son, and the words she was about to say turned into, “Punish him when he comes back, punish him severely!”
Yan Yan gave her a surprised look, his face showing disbelief. He couldn’t believe these were the words uttered by Zhuang Xian.
After Zhuang Xian finished speaking, she felt a bit embarrassed about breaking her character. She coughed a few times and turned her head away.
Zhuang Yiyun still didn’t know that Attorney Yan had unilaterally determined he was guilty and he was now in the sentencing stage. Soon, it was their program. The documentary about fighting the MOTC highly Infectious virus was played first, portraying the virus’s aggressive nature and how scientists had to go for closed research for three years. Then it cut to the research team representatives who were invited to the event.
The male and female hosts stood on either side for interviews. They first introduced the experts one by one, then, according to the pre-arranged order, focused on two of them: the most heavyweight leader, Professor Xun Yansheng, and the most unique and talked-about, Dr. Zhuang Yiyun.
Facing the venerable old scientist like Professor Xun, the hosts behaved very solemnly. However, when it came to Zhuang Yiyun, they became more lively.
The male host stood next to him and said, “Dr. Zhuang, I feel like I shouldn’t be the host right now; you are more fitting. Friends in the audience, is it too much to say the most handsome scientist!”
The other audience members enthusiastically joined in, “Not at all! It’s a fact!”
Zhuang Yiyun looked at the camera with a slight smile. He knew the camera was focusing on him at this moment and Yan Yan could see him.
“I would like to ask Dr. Zhuang, was it tough during thise three years of closed research and development?”
“It was tough. The team’s average daily working time was 14 hours, and we were basically working year-round. Physical fatigue is secondary; the key is that it’s difficult to maintain the continuous activity of brain cells after physical exhaustion. During the time at the base, I actually grew some white hair. I was afraid of scaring… my family so I had my colleagues help pull them out before leaving the base.”
This interview was pre-discussed content, and he was required to differ from Professor Xun’s speech, taking a more relaxed and daily life approach.
The host continued, “Different looks, common troubles.”
“The second issue was the psychological pressure brought by the closed environment. For more than a thousand days, none of us stepped out of the base. Later, even Dr. Zhao, who has a military background and is the best at enduring, joked that he had counted how many generations of grass had reproduced in the garden. Dr. Zhao and Dr. Li then teamed up to learn a bit of gardening, transplanting a plant every week for timing and stress relief. I heard that the flowers and plants were protected as a memorial when the project ended.”
The camera turned to Dr. Zhao, who looked a bit stunned. He didn’t expect Zhuang Yiyun to mention such a trivial matter in front of the whole country.
The live director gestured to Zhuang Yiyun behind the camera, indicating for him to continue. The previous program ended prematurely, and there was now a minute gap, and seeing the popularity of this segment soaring, it was just right to fill this minute.
Zhuang Yiyun continued, “Once, Professor Xun fainted in the lab. He is seventy-five, and couldn’t be persuaded to leave after twenty-four hours of continuous discussion. After the discussion, he still insisted on going to the lab to check the live data and fainted on the spot. Every member of the MOTC special task force is admirable. They gave generously without expecting anything in return. Everyone did their best.”
The host took over and summarized the topic, “Adversity reveals fortitude, and only through tempering can one achieve perfection. Especially in this difficult and dangerous mission of developing the MOTC virus vaccine and specific drugs, breaking through many technical bottlenecks. This world-class research speed has amazed countries around the world. To all the scientists, allow us to say on behalf of the people you’ve protected: Thank you for your hard work.”
When Zhuang Yiyun mentioned his family, the barrage on the live streaming platform was still full of comments like “Husband?” and “Picking him up after work.” But as he continued, the screen was filled with tears and gratitude.
In front of the TV, Yan Yan snorted and muttered to himself, “Forget it, let him go this time.”
But this “let him go” was doomed to be a “midway collapse.” Before the Spring Festival Gala ended, the photo of Zhuang Yiyun and Liu Ning became a hot search, followed by Zhuang Yiyun and the female star Li Hongran sitting next to him.
Liu Ning V: [It’s a great honor to meet Dr. Zhuang Yiyun. Salute to the scientists!]
The caption wasn’t much, but the photos were skillfully taken. His assistant found an excellent shooting angle, making it look like the two were shoulder to shoulder, with his arm hidden behind Zhuang Yiyun, giving the intuitive impression that it was resting on Zhuang Yiyun’s waist or back.
Yan Yan only glanced at it and was immediately furious.
Li Hongran didn’t post on Weibo herself, but her team’s marketing was no less, taking screenshots of the dialogue between the two in the audience and combining it with the side profile of Zhuang Yiyun watching the performance on stage when Li Hongran was performing. They created a four-picture collage, and with the help of the navy, uninformed netizens even danced out the CP of the two.
After all, compared to the general public of millions, Dr. Zhuang’s marital status could only be considered a small-scale rumor. A scientist and a female star, both with good looks, seemed like a perfect match.
Yan Yan was so angry that he threw his phone.
The four elders took a look, and suddenly no one spoke.
Zhuang Xian and her boyfriend didn’t stay overnight here and bid farewell at ten o’clock. As soon as they left, Yan Yan picked up his phone, changed his shoes, grabbed Zhuaizhuai, and informed his parents before leaving.
“Where are you going? Didn’t we agree to spend New Year’s at your place, we haven’t even stayed up late yet?”
“I’m going home, this doghouse is unbearable!”
“Not to that extent…” Qian Ruqing said.
“To that extent! Zhuang Yiyun is very capable. He goes out for an event for just one night, and he can attract two peach blossoms. This is just what I’ve seen. I don’t know how many more I haven’t seen. I must, absolutely, show him some color!”
Yan Yan said and walked towards the study. After awhile, he came out with a keyboard in one hand and a vertical phone stand in the other. Then, he placed the keyboard on the entrance floor, and the phone stand two meters away from the keyboard in the middle of the entrance leading to the living room.
“Hiss…” Qian Ruqing was shocked, “You want Xiao Yiyun to kneel on the keyboard? Isn’t it too much, Yan Yan!”
Yan Yan opened the door and left. Qian Ruqing planned to quietly pick up the keyboard, but as if he had eyes behind him, Yan Yan turned around and glared at her, “Mom, dare to touch it, and I’ll stay in a hotel tonight.”
“Okay, okay, I won’t touch it.”
Qian Ruqing signaled to Yan Ximing behind, and Yan Ximing chased after him. The father and son walking shoulder to shoulder, and he persuaded in a low voice, “Xiao Yiyun is a man, you also have to give him face. Moreover, he hasn’t done anything. It’s not his fault that some people are shameless.”
“Dad, is this the set of words you use to deceive my mom?”
Behind the father and son, Qian Ruqing glared angrily, immediately recalling whether her husband had any extramarital affairs in recent years.
The family of three became silent. Amidst the lively atmosphere of family reunions, their side was icy cold. The heating was turned off directly, turning the place into an ice cellar.
Zhuang Yiyun’s return flight was scheduled for the next morning. To return as soon as possible, he bought the earliest flight to come back as soon as possible and rushed home as soon as he got off the plane. Yesterday, he sent a message to Yan Yan after the gala, but Yan Yan only replied with a few sentences and said he was sleepy. So logically speaking, Yan Yan should be asleep at this time. Zhuang Yiyun, who got into the taxi, was looking forward to hugging someone and taking a nap when he got home. However, as soon as the door opened, a cold wind swept in.
There was a window in the house that wasn’t closed and the wind was blowing in. At the entrance, there was a keyboard and a phone stand. Although he didn’t know what had happened, judging from the situation, his husband was absolutely not at home. And this keyboard and stand seemed to be prepared for him.
Just in case, he still circled around to confirm. He closed the window, turned on the heating, and then returned to the entrance. He dialed Yan Yan’s number, but it was hung up twice. Now he wouldn’t believe otherwise even if he was beaten.
As if unlocking a secret code to pass a game, he placed his phone on the stand and sent a video invitation to Yan Yan. It rang for three seconds, and this time, it was finally answered.
In the video, Zhuang Yiyun took off his coat and left only his suit. He sat on the floor in front of the keyboard in a relaxed posture, with a faint smile on his face, full of indulgence.
“Baby, won’t you get heartbroken if I kneel on your customized keyboard and break it?” His slender fingers touched the enter key. The deep blue keycap and the sparkling white joints were pleasing to the eye.
Yan Yan turned over and lay prone. He found that this man… was becoming more and more skilled in capturing his heart, almost taking his life.
What a stupid argument