Chapter 157: Rolling Around in Bed Alone

When Dong Yanyan led Nannan out the door, her mother's voice trailed after them with a final instruction, "If anyone gives you New Year money, you are not allowed to take it."

"Got it," Dong Yanyan replied lazily. Ever since she was little, she had never received any New Year lucky money for a very simple reason—her mother wouldn't let her accept it! Consequently, relatives and friends eventually stopped offering it to them altogether, knowing that whatever they gave would just be returned by her mother anyway. Ironically, after she got married and occasionally visited home for the holidays, those same relatives and elders would generously hand over large sums of lucky money. Because they rarely saw each other day-to-day, these occasional reunions sparked an extra layer of warmth and affection. She would sometimes sigh, feeling like she was living her life backward: no one gave her money when she was a child, but everyone wanted to give her money once she was all grown up.

After finishing the morning New Year greetings, she dragged Nannan straight to their grandmother's house to watch her youngest uncle and eldest aunt play mahjong. Her cousins from both sides were also there. Dong Yanyan and her older cousins broke out a deck of poker cards, while Nannan, Bingbing, and Xiaoling sat on the heated brick bed, known as a *kang*, eating candy.

Her grandparents were busy fussing over the television set that their fourth uncle had bought them.

"Yanyan, come take a look at this for me. Why won't the TV change channels?" Her grandfather brandished the remote control and shouted loudly for her.

Dong Yanyan ran over, took the remote, and burst out laughing. "Grandpa, this isn't the TV remote, it's the DVD player remote! Little Uncle! How did you end up bringing the remote from your room into this room?"

"Need you even ask? It must have been Bingbing's doing! She takes anything nice she sees and brings it right to her grandma's room!" The youngest uncle turned his head and chuckled at the eldest aunt. "Why isn't she anything like her eldest aunt, who hoards all the good stuff for her own household?!"

Hearing this, the eldest aunt immediately bristled. "Little Fuzi, you need to have some basis for what you're saying! What have I ever brought back to my own house? Did you actually see me do it?"

"It's the New Year, let's not discuss such disharmonious topics!" Dong Yanyan chimed in with a cheeky grin, sneaking a peek at the tiles in her eldest aunt's hand before frowning. "Eldest Aunt... it looks like you've won?"

"Oh! Indeed I have!" The eldest aunt let out a joyful shriek, pushed over her tiles, and laughed. "Hand over the money! Pay up, everyone!"

"Yanyan, why on earth are you standing right behind her? Adults are playing mahjong, children aren't allowed to be spectators! Go play somewhere else!" her youngest uncle said with visible displeasure.

"Yanyan, you'd better come back over here! If the little uncle loses one more hand, he'll probably resort to robbing you for cash! We'd better not provoke him!" her second older cousin laughed from the side.

"Xiaoli, can you stop jinxing me with talk about losing? Can't you root for me to win?" her youngest uncle complained.

"Fine! From now on, I won't call you Uncle anymore! I'll just call you 'Winner,' how about that? If you win, are you going to buy me good things to eat?!" her second cousin teased with a laugh.

"Aren't all these delicious snacks enough for you to eat?" Her youngest uncle laughed as he stacked the tiles.

While they were talking, the voices of her mother and youngest aunt drifted in from outside the door. Dong Yanyan raised her wrist to check her watch; it was time for dinner, and her mother was undoubtedly here to call her home to eat.

She called Nannan over, helped her put on her coat, and just as she finished, her mother walked in. After exchanging New Year greetings with the grandparents, her mother turned to her and Nannan. "Yanyan, Nannan, time to come home for dinner!"

"Second Sister-in-law, really now, just let them eat here," the youngest uncle said dismissively with a laugh.

"No need, everything is already cooked at home," her mother smiled.

Dong Yanyan took Nannan by the hand, waved goodbye to her cousins, and headed home with her mother. Once they were back, she took off her coat, climbed onto the *kang*, stretched out luxuriously, and let out a long yawn. Squinting her eyes with sheer contentment, she smiled and said, "My legs are so sore from walking all day! Stretching out like this feels so amazing! There's really no place like home! You can lie down however you want!"

"Yanyan, if you're going to lie down, at least spread out the quilt properly. Lying around like that looks a complete mess!" Her mother pushed open the door and scolded with affectionate exasperation.

"Got it," Dong Yanyan answered lazily. She got up from the bed, pulled the comforter, mattress, and pillows out of the wardrobe, tossed them onto the *kang*, and burrowed into a cozy nest she formed inside. Just as she was about to fall asleep, her mother tapped on the window connecting to the kitchen. "Yanyan, don't sleep just yet, time to eat!"

"I'm not eating, I'm going to sleep!" Dong Yanyan kicked her legs in annoyance and shouted, then pulled the quilt over her head. Within moments, she drifted off to dreamland, undisturbed even by the loud crackle of firecrackers outside.

She slept all the way until past eight o'clock in the evening. Too lazy to get up, she lay on her back, staring up at the bright ceiling light—it was so blindingly bright! Every year during the New Year, her family would replace the old bulbs with extra-bright ones, illuminating the entire house until it was dazzlingly radiant. Because of this, whenever she spent time in brightly lit rooms thereafter, she always had the lingering feeling of the New Year. It felt so wonderful to be home; it gave her a profound sense of security and peace of mind! Why on earth must people grow up? Growing up brought too many worries, too many responsibilities, and too many troubles. How much better it was like this: able to sleep whenever she wanted, able to roll around however she pleased. She hugged her pillow and rolled back and forth contentedly across the thick mattress. It was pure bliss!

Abruptly, a face appeared right in front of her. Nannan was looking down at her from above with a grin. "Big Sister, you're awake!"

"Nope! Still not awake~" Dong Yanyan rolled over, trying to keep up the pretense of sleep.

"Big Sister, get up and eat dinner right now! If you don't eat, how am I supposed to go to sleep?" Nannan shook her vigorously with both small hands. Annoyed, Dong Yanyan shook her off and snapped, "Stop bugging me!"

A pillow landed squarely on her head. Clutching her hair in exasperation, she sat up with a start, while Nannan held the pillow with an innocent expression. "Big Sister, I was just playing with you!"

Speechless, Dong Yanyan stared at her and said quietly, "Little sister, playing is fine, but you are not allowed to hit me in the head ever again. This time it was just a pillow, so it didn't matter, but if it had been something else, my skull might have cracked open, and then you wouldn't have a big sister anymore."

"How wonderful that would be! Then Mom and Dad would only love me!" Nannan said with an excited grin.

A chill ran down Dong Yanyan's spine. This kind of mentality was terribly unhealthy; who knew, she might actually commit fratricide one day just to vie for favor! The minds of the post-nineties generation were truly impossible to fathom! Sharing a room with her every day was simply too dangerous!

With that thought, she grabbed her quilt and stood up. Turning to Nannan, she challenged, "Nannan, let's go over there together. Whichever one of us Mom and Dad are willing to sleep with will prove who they love more, and whoever wins, gets to sleep there. Well? Do you dare?!"

"Let's go then! Who's scared of you?!" Nannan clutched her pillow and pouted defiantly.

The two of them rushed pell-mell toward the west room. Their parents were watching TV in there, and they looked rather startled to see their daughters charging in with pillows and quilts in their arms.

"Mom, Dad, I want to sleep with you guys!" Dong Yanyan hugged her comforter and made a move to wedge herself right between them. Nannan immediately lunged forward, throwing her arms around their father's arm and acting spoiled. "Dad, I want to sleep with you guys too!"

"No fair, I'm the one sleeping with Mom and Dad! Dad! Dad! Look, Big Sister is bullying me again!" Nannan shook her father's arm and whined.