Chapter 395: Chapter 315: Christmas Eve

December 24th, Christmas Eve.

Restaurants in Hang City usually require reservations in advance for popular holidays like Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Lin Lu was already well-acquainted with this.

For the past few years, she had made it a point to book her birthday dining location early, otherwise it would be tough to get a reservation. This might be one of the hassles that come with having a birthday on a holiday.

Many girls prefer to celebrate their birthdays at restaurants that are photogenic. Even someone like Lin Lu isn’t immune to this custom.

Besides, she had always been enthusiastic about documenting her life, taking photos, and journaling.

Even to the point where for a better group photo, girls might secretly coordinate their clothing colors.

To avoid a messy-looking picture.

They don’t find this bothersome; on the contrary, they relish the ritual significance.

That morning, Lin Lu woke up bright and early from her bed, full of energy.

She had been too excited to sleep well the night before.

Of course, her excitement wasn’t because of her birthday. It was purely due to her special plans for the day.

Last night, she didn’t stay at Xinhang Apartment but made a special trip home.

She had to pick up her new clothes and also to “steal” a few bottles of red wine from her daddy’s collection.

Mr. Lin was a collector of various fine wines, including valuable red wines and some special Moutai and Wuliangye.

But he didn’t actually drink much himself.

Many men, after making some money and reaching middle age, tend to develop quite strange and expensive hobbies.

Like collecting wine, jade, beads, various precious woods…

After Lin Lu took two bottles of red wine from the cabinet, she didn’t forget to snap a photo and send it to her daddy before leaving.

“Daddy, I’ve stolen these two bottles of wine,” she sent.

Mr. Lin was already at the company when he received the message, responding with a mixture of bemusement and laughter, “You sure know how to choose, going for the expensive ones.”

“Ah? Are they expensive? I just picked the ones you bought recently; I haven’t touched the ones you’ve had for many years,” she replied.

“It’s fine. Take them and drink with your friends, but remember to bring back the bottles,” he said.

“Got it!”

After finishing all of this, Lin Lu was ready to head out.

She had a class in the afternoon and after that, she planned to go to the hair salon with Shen Qingning to wash and style their hair.

By the time she drove to Technology University, she noticed many apple stalls on the streets outside the campus.

Oh, today they ought to be called peace apples.

Chinese people have a knack for infusing foreign holidays with a local flavor.

There’s no tradition of peace apples in other countries.

Of course, with the popularity of Apple phones, some girls have grown discontent with receiving just an apple on Christmas Eve.

“I should buy one for Cheng Zhu!” Lin Lu immediately thought.

In her memory, during her school years, many boys and girls exchanged peace apples on this day.

Moreover, since the movie “You are the apple of my eye” became a hit in mainland China in 2012, due to a classic quote from the film, apples gained an additional meaning for young men and women:

“[You are the apple of my eye].”

This phrase was also the English title of the movie.

After the film’s release, it seemed many people changed their personal signatures to this phrase as well.

The meaning is more or less “You are the most precious thing in my eyes.”

Lin Lu got out of the car and began selecting apple gift boxes at a middle-aged woman’s stall.

Of all the stalls, hers looked the finest.

“Miss, is this for a friend or for your boyfriend?” the middle-aged woman began her enthusiastic sales pitch.

Beautiful girl, getting out of a Land Rover, surely she won’t haggle over the price, will she?

Her assumption made Lin Lu feel a bit awkward.

“Right, I have to buy one for Ningning too; I bought her one last year,” she thought, realizing she had forgotten Ningning.

On that thought, the young madame decided to simply buy one for every friend attending the dinner.

It’s not about having too few, but ensuring fairness. Since she’s gathering friends, buying just two apple gift boxes seemed improper.

“Auntie, I’ll take eight boxes,” the young rich woman said without even asking the price.

The middle-aged woman’s eyes brightened.

In the end, however, Lin Lu still bargained with her, using her superior haggling skills to shave off 12 yuan from the total price, basically rounding down the change.

For this, she was proudly self-congratulatory, “I’m so awesome!”

The middle-aged woman was equally smug, “I made a killing!”

She enthusiastically helped Lin Lu place the apple gift boxes into the trunk of the car.

The sprightly girl also took great care to select two particularly red and large apples, intending to give them to Cheng Zhu and Shen Qingning respectively.

After this, she returned to the driver’s seat and drove into the campus.

Two minutes later, another Land Rover pulled up at the stall.

The middle-aged woman looked up and saw an equally stunning girl.

But the girl who had just left seemed cuter and easier to get along with, whereas this newcomer had a cool temperament and a powerful presence, which made people a bit too intimidated to strike up a conversation.

This flawless beauty squatted down and looked over the remaining apple gift boxes at the stall.

“Miss, is this for a friend or for your boyfriend?” the middle-aged woman used the same line.

Shen Qingning glanced up in response.

Then, a hint of hesitation flashed in her eyes.

Ultimately, without asking the price, she simply said, “Ma’am, I’d like four.”

She was buying apple gift boxes as gifts for Lin Lu and Cheng Zhu.

However, she differed from Lin Lu.

Lin Lu felt shy about buying only for Ningning and Cheng Zhu, especially since it was her birthday and her friends might bring her gifts.

The haughty girl, on the other hand… couldn’t bring herself to give a gift box directly to Cheng Zhu.

She couldn’t make that step.

Thus, she decided to also buy one for Shen Minglang and Jiang Wanzhou, who would also be attending the dinner.

In doing so, she could naturally give one to him.

Her actions were much like someone hugging the whole class during a graduation ceremony, just to hug one person without standing out.

Or like someone who wanted to buy a drink or an ice cream for a special person, then ended up buying a bunch for everyone.

Some people’s love is encapsulated like this.

But the reasons vary: some out of insecurity, some out of timidity, some out of shyness, some out of pride…

After paying, the middle-aged woman asked Shen Qingning, “Miss, pick out which four boxes you’d like.”

Shen Qingning nodded slightly and chose two of the best-looking apples, “This one, and this one. For the other two, just pick any for me.”

“Sure thing,” the middle-aged woman bagged them up.

Business was really booming today!

And so, she watched as the second Land Rover drove away.

After Shen Qingning left, the nearby stall owners cast envious glances at the middle-aged woman.

“Sister Yang, you’re doing well today, you sold twelve boxes in just a few minutes!”

They all thought money from young people was easy money, which is why they set up their stalls by the university gates.

The end of December in Hang City was cold, but their eagerness to make money was intensely warm.

The apples today were downright lucrative!

As long as the gift boxes were exquisite and well-decorated, the profit was ridiculous.

Sister Yang glanced at the two other stalls and, while certain that her gift boxes were the finest and deserved to sell the best, she maintained a humble front,

“Just lucky, just lucky.”

The three stall owners continued to chat idly.

“Those two young girls that just left were so pretty!”

“Yeah, each had their own beauty.”

“Students as pretty as they are must receive lots of apples today, right?”

“Yeah, I wonder who they’re buying for.”

“If I looked like those girls, I wouldn’t buy any. Surely boys will send me some today, and if I wanted to give apples to someone, I could just re-gift them, right?”

“Hahaha!”

To be honest, they had been at the stalls for a while, and there were indeed more male students buying apples than female students.

And by quite a lot!

This fact alone reflected certain insights.

Still, it was rare for two girls to buy so many apple boxes at once, as if they were stocking up on supplies.

Not to mention that in the eyes of the three ladies, they looked like angels.

It was anyone’s guess who the apples were meant for.

In the midst of their conversation, the clock ticked five minutes forward.

A third Land Rover stopped in front of Sister Yang’s stall.

The two beauties had just left, and now a handsome guy had arrived.

A young man wearing a black turtleneck sweater with a dark gray coat got out of the car, glanced at the apple boxes on Sister Yang’s stall, and subtly furrowed his brows.

“Boss, these apples look a bit small,” Cheng Zhu remarked.

Of the three stalls, only this one had gift boxes elegant enough, as the others didn’t meet his standards and were wholly unfit for giving.

Sister Yang muttered internally, “That’s because the big ones were picked out already.”

But of course, she wouldn’t voice that, opting instead to reassure, “No, no, they’re not too small at all.”

With the same enthusiastic spirit, she began her sales pitch, staying consistent with her opening question, “Handsome, are these for a friend or for your girlfriend?”

The other stall owner on the right turned her head, mockingly mimicking Sister Yang’s line without a sound, cockily framing her mouth after repeating the silent words, clearly jealous of her success.

Cheng Zhu smiled and looked at Sister Yang, replying, “Let’s say it’s for a girlfriend.”

“Okay, handsome, for your girlfriend then. Shall I pick one for you?” Sister Yang offered.

“One isn’t enough. Pick out three for me,” Cheng Zhu affirmed convincingly.

All three ladies thought simultaneously, “Ah?”

…

(ps: First update, asking for monthly votes, catching a cold has dropped me to fifth place! That’s way too competitive!)