Chapter 5: Spring Garden Festival
Shen Youwei didn’t expect Xu Kaicai to come to the forum to clear up the rumors, but thinking about how she and Chen Qing had now reconciled, it made sense that she would care about these trivial matters.
Although the forum required real-name registration, everyone still used IDs, so no one really knew anyone’s true identity. Because of this, the original poster spreading rumors stubbornly insisted that the person claiming to be Xu Kaicai was actually Shen Youwei’s alternate account.
Their reason? The two had the same IP address.
Shen Youwei laughed angrily—why didn’t he say that everyone on the forum with an A City IP was her multiple personalities?
The forum couldn’t verify identities, but Xu Kaicai had a verified Weibo account. When questioned, she confirmed the rumor-clearing post on her own Weibo.
At that point, the rumor-monger was completely silenced.
He secretly deleted the post late at night, then opened a new thread to apologize. When Shen Youwei saw it the next morning, she just shook her head repeatedly.
She still preferred his previously rebellious attitude.
Since the poster had already “¹slid to his knees” (humbly apologized), she was too lazy to sue him. After talking with her lawyer, Shen Youwei finally got up to wash and get ready.
Today’s event at Lize Park started at 9:30 a.m., and at 8:30, Shen Youwei stepped out of her room. If she was going to admire the flowers and take pictures, she would usually prefer to wear a skirt, but since there would be many people at today’s event, a skirt would be inconvenient.
She chose a pair of light blue frayed-edge jeans paired with a white lantern-sleeve crochet blouse. In order to give her outfit a French lazy elegance vibe, she even used a silk scarf to braid her hair.
When she arrived at the dining room, Guan Shanyan happened to walk over as well.
Different from his usual work attire, today he wore a white V-neck cable knit sweater paired with caramel-colored casual pants, exuding the aura of an aristocratic young man, as if he had returned to his university days.
Coincidentally, he had also chosen a French chic style.
The essence of French style is that it looks casual but every single piece is well considered—like her ankle-exposing jeans, or Guan Shanyan’s collarbones barely visible under the V-neck.
“You two are pretty well matched today,” Xie Mingqiu said as she set the breakfast on the table, glancing at them. “Is this what sibling chemistry looks like?”
Neither Shen Youwei nor Guan Shanyan responded, they quietly sat down at the table. Today’s breakfast was quite abundant. Although there was one more person in the house now, the full table of food still surprised Guan Shanyan.
“You prepared this much breakfast?”
Xie Mingqiu pulled out a chair and sat down, smiling at him. “All of this was bought by Youwei yesterday afternoon. There’s still a lot in the fridge, we won’t be able to finish it all.”
“Oh, if you can’t finish it, just eat slowly. It won’t spoil anytime soon.” Shen Youwei picked up the milk and took a sip. “I was going to buy some more snacks, but I really couldn’t carry anymore.”
“Good thing you didn’t,” Xie Mingqiu said, calling Guan Su from the kitchen and reminding Shen Youwei, “When you go out later, just wearing a blouse won’t be enough. Bring another piece of clothing.”
“Mm-hmm, I’ve prepared a jacket,” she said, sneaking a glance at Guan Shanyan. Since he was dressed so nicely, could it be that he was going to enjoy the flowers with her?
Guan Shanyan did indeed leave together with her. Lize Park was right next to their community, only a twenty-minute walk away.
Shen Youwei didn’t forget to wear a mask as she silently walked alongside Guan Shanyan. The sunshine was nice today, but the wind still carried a chill. Fortunately, she had worn her jacket.
The trees lining both sides of the road were in full bloom, with many petals scattered on the ground. When she was young, Shen Youwei often went to the park with Guan Shanyan, walking this very path. Although the scenery on the roadside had changed somewhat, walking there still brought back many memories of their youth.
The two walked one after the other, keeping about half a step apart. Suddenly, Guan Shanyan stopped and turned around to glance behind him.
There were a few people walking in small groups behind them, seemingly also heading to Lize Park. Guan Shanyan stood still watching for a moment. Shen Youwei finally stopped and asked him, “What are you doing?”
Guan Shanyan turned back and, instead of answering, asked, “Have you offended anyone recently?”
Without hesitation, Shen Youwei said, “Chen Qing, of course.”
Guan Shanyan pondered for a moment, as if thinking something over. “Besides Chen Qing?”
“I don’t know. After all, female celebrities have a lot of haters.”
“…” Guan Shanyan said nothing more and continued walking toward Lize Park with her.
Shen Youwei was quite popular now, so having haters wasn’t surprising. But previously, it was her old address that was leaked online. No one should know she moved here.
So was it just his imagination? He had felt as if someone was watching them.
When they arrived at Lize Park, the sounds of the event could be heard from afar. The host’s voice was lively and passionate through the speakers. No need to ask for directions—just following the sound would lead them to the event.
The peach blossoms in Lize Park were indeed far more numerous and beautiful than those outside. Seeing the poster for the Peach Blossom Festival, Shen Youwei quickened her pace.
It was only 9:30 a.m., but many people had already gathered—mostly adults with children coming to enjoy the event. Before entering, they had to register. Shen Youwei and Guan Shanyan waited in line a while until it was their turn.
“Are you two family?” the staff member responsible for registration asked.
Shen Youwei and Guan Shanyan both fell silent. The staff, waiting for an answer, glanced at them again: “Is this question difficult to answer?”
“…” Shen Youwei gave an awkward smile and politely asked the staff, “Does it make any difference if we say yes or no?”
“If no, you register separately. If yes, just one registration is enough,” the staff said, tapping the form. “Write down your names and residential community here.”
“I’ll do it,” Guan Shanyan said, picking up a pen and filling out the form.
While he was filling it out, the staff handed a few event tickets to Shen Youwei. “Each person can get two food exchange coupons. Since there are two of you, that’s four coupons. Pick whichever you like.”
Shen Youwei looked down at the tickets. The snacks her godmom had mentioned were all there. But she could only pick four, so she hesitated a bit.
Sugar painting and spicy hot pot skewers were definite picks. Egg pancake couldn’t be missed either. Popcorn… never mind, she’d rather have candied glutinous rice balls.
After deciding, Shen Youwei took the coupons for sugar painting and spicy hot pot skewers. Just as she was about to pick the third one, she suddenly stopped.
The other two coupons were Guan Shanyan’s portion. She used to be able to claim them all herself, but now that they weren’t that close anymore, she wouldn’t take advantage of him.
Hmph.
After Guan Shanyan finished registering, Shen Youwei pointed at the remaining coupons. “You choose two more.”
Guan Shanyan looked down at the tickets on the table and picked up the egg pancake and the candied glutinous rice balls.
Shen Youwei’s eyes flickered, she clearly remembered that Guan Shanyan didn’t like egg pancakes that much.
“This is a stamp card. You collect stamps by playing games, and when you fill it up, you can get a small gift,” the staff said as they handed them the stamp cards, then called the next people over to register.
Shen Youwei looked at the stamp card in her hand. The mini-games were quite varied—there were things like pitch-pot and ring toss.
“I’ll go get the food first,” Shen Youwei said, holding her exchange coupons as she headed toward the cart selling spicy hot pot skewers. The games could wait, but if the food ran out, her trip would be wasted.
Guan Shanyan glanced at her back, then queued up at the egg pancake stall.
The spicy hot pot skewers moved quickly, but each person could only choose four sticks. Just as it whetted people’s appetites, the food was gone.
After throwing her bowl into the trash can, Shen Youwei put her mask back on and went to queue at the sugar painting stall.
When Guan Shanyan came over carrying the egg pancake, Shen Youwei had not reached the front of the line yet. A small child was sitting on the ground next to her, crying and fussing.
Guan Shanyan raised his eyebrow slightly. “You made a little kid cry?”
Shen Youwei immediately retorted, “What? He tried to cut in line. I didn’t let him, so he started throwing a tantrum!”
The little kid cried even louder after hearing her say that. “You’re an adult, and you’re arguing with a kid!”
Shen Youwei said confidently, “There are lots of kids behind me too, and they wouldn’t have let him cut in either.”
“Yeah, yeah, cutting in line is wrong, and you still have the nerve to cry!” The kids behind started to chime in and criticize him.
“See?” Shen Youwei proudly crossed her arms and looked at Guan Shanyan.
Guan Shanyan: “…”
“Sorry, please let us through,” the child’s mother pushed through the crowd, scooped up her kid, and hurried away.
“Looks like his mom found it pretty embarrassing,” Shen Youwei commented as she watched the woman retreat in a hurry.
“Hmm… You arguing with a kid here isn’t embarrassing at all?” Guan Shanyan replied.
“So what? Who isn’t a kid at heart?” Shen Youwei lifted her mask slightly. “Besides, I’m wearing a mask.”
“…” So your face is especially thick, huh? Guan Shanyan handed her the egg pancake and didn’t continue the topic. “Eat the egg pancake first.”
Shen Youwei looked at the egg pancake in his hand but didn’t take it. “You’re not eating?”
“I don’t like it.”
“…” Then why did you pick it?
But since the egg pancake was offered, she might as well take it. Shen Youwei reached out and accepted it.
She usually liked spicy food, but when it came to egg pancakes, she preferred the sweet kind.
The one Guan Shanyan gave her happened to be the sweet-flavored one.
Shen Youwei pursed her lips but said nothing. She took off her mask and took a bite of the egg pancake.
After getting the sugar painting, Shen Youwei felt a little full, so she decided to play some games.
When she arrived, she had already set her sights on the pitch-pot game, so that was her first stop.
In the pitch-pot game, each person could take five arrows, for each arrow that hit the target, they could enter a raffle. If someone hit all five, they would win the hidden grand prize — a cat plush toy.
Shen Youwei came just for that plush toy, but hitting all five was impossible. “What if nobody hits all five today?”
The staff said, “Then the highest record holder will get the prize.”
“That’s me!” a little boy proudly stepped forward, chest out. “I hit three arrows just now, and no one has beaten me yet.”
Shen Youwei: “…”
She tried holding the arrows and not a single one went in.
“Ahem.” She cleared her throat and asked the staff, “What do you get if you don’t hit any?”
The staff said, “You get my sympathy.”
Shen Youwei: “…”
Well, thanks for that.
She walked away disappointed. Next up was Guan Shanyan.
Guan Shanyan was an artist, and since he had been physically weak since childhood, Shen Youwei didn’t expect much. But in the blink of an eye, he swiftly hit three arrows in a row.
“Oh my god, you’re really good?!” Excited, Shen Youwei temporarily forgot their bad relationship. “If you hit one more, you can get the cat!!!”
She really wanted that prize!
The little boy watching also got nervous. Seeing Guan Shanyan about to throw the fourth arrow, he shouted, “Wait!”
Guan Shanyan held up the arrow and looked at him.
The boy was a little embarrassed but stammered, “You’re an adult — shouldn’t you go easy on kids?”
Guan Shanyan seemed to chuckle lightly and said to him, “Sorry, my little sister is also a kid.”
—
¹“slid to his knees” is a figurative or humorous way of saying that someone humbled themselves completely or apologized in a very submissive or defeated way. It’s not literal — the person didn’t actually slide to the ground — but it paints a vivid picture of someone who was once arrogant or defiant suddenly becoming extremely apologetic, almost begging for forgiveness.