After taking the fever medicine, Zong Xuan’s fever went down very quickly. However, it rose again twice during the night, and it was not until the next morning that he had completely recovered.
Xu Tang also refused to let him get out of bed. He asked the auntie to make some porridge for Zong Xuan. When the auntie was leaving, Xu Tang sent her a red envelope. Starting tomorrow, she would not need to come over anymore, and would only return after the Spring Festival.
That night, the two of them curled up together on the sofa in the audiovisual room and watched the local station’s Spring Festival Gala. In previous years, Xu Tang had still participated in these kinds of events, but these past two years he had stopped going. After all, everyone in his family was usually busy, and it was rare for them to gather during the New Year. He no longer needed to rely on such appearances to accumulate popularity, so he preferred to spend more time with his family.
“Were you always the finale when you participated in these kinds of galas before?” Zong Xuan asked while holding Xu Tang in his arms.
After sleeping for an entire day, plus the fact that Xu Tang was willing to give him a chance, he was now full of energy. So full of energy, in fact, that the things Xu Tang had given him to make up for his health today were making him feel a little restless.
“Not in the first two years. Later on, I became the finale.” Xu Tang did not really care much about it. It was just a difference between arriving earlier or later.
“When I have time someday, I’ll make up for the performances you had in previous years.” Zong Xuan smiled.
“Don’t.” Xu Tang quickly stopped him.
As far as singing ability was concerned, he had nothing to worry about. But his styling… One had to know that aesthetics changed every year. The outfits and looks from back then might seem outdated or even funny if viewed now. He really did not want Zong Xuan to see his embarrassing, old-fashioned self.
“Why?” Zong Xuan felt that getting to know Xu Tang better through this method was very necessary.
“It’s… it’s too embarrassing.” Xu Tang gave a general summary.
Zong Xuan smiled. “What’s there to be embarrassed about? I don’t understand music anyway. I’m just looking at you.”
Xu Tang felt that being too subtle probably would not work, so he blushed and said, “The styling was too old-fashioned. Don’t watch it.”
Zong Xuan had not expected that Xu Tang’s reason for refusing would actually be this. He laughed. “What’s wrong with that? I wouldn’t dislike you.”
“Why is your styling never considered outdated?” Xu Tang had always found this confusing.
Looking back at the styles Zong Xuan had worn when he attended events and accepted interviews during university, aside from still having some youthful awkwardness, they never looked strange or laughable.
“Different fields are one reason. Another reason is that the clothes I wore back then were all picked out by my second brother. He works in fashion design, so naturally he was better at choosing clothes. He also considered future changes in trends, so aside from showing my personality, the styles were still relatively classic. That’s why they don’t look outdated or tacky now.”
Zong Xuan was actually quite grateful toward his second brother for this. His brother had given him many useful suggestions in this area and had even gifted him many clothes back then.
“You singers are different. Your styling is based on the trends of the time and the style of the songs. Personalized elements stand out more, so the sense of the era is also stronger. Looking back now, there will definitely be some styles that seem unusual.”
“You actually know quite a lot.” After hearing him explain it this way, Xu Tang no longer felt quite so embarrassed.
“I’m still a few years older than you, after all. Of course I know more than you.” Zong Xuan smiled and rubbed Xu Tang’s hair. Then he leaned close to his ear and softly said, “Call me ‘ge’ and let me hear it.”
He still remembered when Xu Tang had called him “Xuan-ge” before. But it had only happened once. After that, Xu Tang seemed to always call him by his full name. It was not bad, but he still wanted to hear Xu Tang call him that.
“I have an older brother.” Xu Tang said quietly.
“How can that be the same?” Zong Xuan smiled and pinched Xu Tang’s nose.
Xu Tang blushed and said nothing.
If he called him “Xuan-ge,” he could still say it. But removing the name and only calling him “ge” felt like it carried an overly intimate meaning, making him too embarrassed to say it.
Zong Xuan teased him, “If you don’t call me that, I won’t let you sleep tonight.”
“You’re just a sick cat, and you still have the nerve to act arrogant…” Xu Tang glanced at him.
“Ha…”
Zong Xuan considered himself strong and healthy, especially in that particular aspect. Yet after merely having a fever, he had actually been labeled a sick cat?
To prove himself, Zong Xuan did not say another word and directly pushed Xu Tang down onto the sofa.
Xu Tang looked at Zong Xuan pressing over him, their faces extremely close. His face became even hotter, and his heartbeat also sped up.
“Are you going to call me that or not? If you don’t, I’ll kiss you.” Zong Xuan looked into Xu Tang’s eyes. That clear and innocent gaze completely hooked him.
“You… you’re actually being a hooligan.” Xu Tang stammered.
Zong Xuan smiled. “What? Are you planning to have a Platonic relationship with me?”
Xu Tang was instantly speechless.
He liked Zong Xuan, and he was very happy that Zong Xuan liked him too. But… he really had never thought about going to bed with him.
On one hand, their relationship had not developed to that stage yet. On the other hand, before this, he had only been thinking about dating his male idol. He had never thought about taking things further. After all, at that time, he had not even managed to start a relationship yet.
“You’re not serious, are you?” Zong Xuan realized that Xu Tang might really have never thought in that direction. He laughed and said, “What exactly about me makes you have no desire at all?”
“It’s not that… I just… didn’t think that far.” Xu Tang said awkwardly.
Zong Xuan laughed loudly. “Then hurry up and think about it. Your brother’s skills are actually pretty good.”
Xu Tang froze for a moment and asked, “You… have dated many boyfriends or girlfriends?”
“No. If you agree to be with me, then you’ll be my first real relationship in the proper sense.”
Zong Xuan found the question a little strange. He might have been flirtatious and playful, but he had never actually had a formal relationship where they officially defined themselves as a couple.
Thinking about it now, all those things in the past were honestly quite ridiculous.
Forget it. There was no point talking about too much.
“How do you know that…”
As soon as Zong Xuan heard that, he burst out laughing. “Why are you so cute? Don’t all men brag like this? Besides, words are meaningless. When the time comes, won’t you know after you try?”
This time, even Xu Tang’s ears turned red. He pushed him and said, “Can you be a little more serious?”
“No.” Zong Xuan answered very decisively.
However, he still picked Xu Tang up and placed the back of his hand against Xu Tang’s face. “You blush this easily? Does your body turn red too?”
Xu Tang felt like he was about to start smoking from embarrassment. He kicked Zong Xuan lightly, telling him to stop while he still could.
Zong Xuan stopped teasing him and hugged him properly again. He took a strawberry and placed it into Xu Tang’s hand, smiling as he said, “Alright, eat some fruit.”
Xu Tang picked up a large strawberry and slowly ate it. His heartbeat gradually returned to normal.
On the television, the singers were singing and dancing, the atmosphere full of celebration. Watching it made people feel especially happy as well.
“Who do you think will be the finale tonight?” Zong Xuan asked.
Xu Tang thought for a moment before saying, “I can’t guess. They invited quite a few top-tier singers today. Any one of them could probably be the finale.”
But beyond both of their expectations, the finale performance of this local Spring Festival Gala was actually Yu Lun.
Zong Xuan let out a cold laugh. “This guy is pretty good at climbing up. Isn’t this basically the local station pushing him into the top-tier ranks?”
Xu Tang also frowned. He did not know what the situation with this television station was, but without a doubt, this would offend the other first-line artists.
“I guess the internet is going to explode.” Zong Xuan said. However, he had no intention of picking up his phone to watch the drama unfold.
Xu Tang suddenly remembered that He Xin had mentioned Yu Lun relying on a sponsor. “Someone is probably trying to promote him. I heard He Xin say before that he got together with the young master of Xin Ye, Sun.”
Zong Xuan raised his eyebrows. “Looks like Young Master Sun really cares about him.”
Otherwise, he would not have promoted him so obviously. Besides building connections, he had probably spent a lot of money as well. It was just unclear whether this opportunity was arranged by Young Master Sun or found by Yu Lun himself.
“Although Yu Lun can’t really be considered first-line, his popularity is still decent. The organizers probably took that into consideration when they made this decision.” Just after Xu Tang finished speaking, a sudden cracked note came from the television…
—Yu Lun had broken his voice while reaching for a high note.
“Ha…” Zong Xuan laughed.
This really proved that if someone did not have enough ability, they should not force themselves into a position they could not handle. Now look what happened—breaking his voice during a live broadcast. There was no way to save it.
Xu Tang also had not expected this to happen.
Generally speaking, singers who liked showing off high notes or frequently sang high notes paid special attention to protecting their voices. This kind of situation basically would not happen. As a singer, they would not allow themselves to make such a mistake.
But Yu Lun clearly had either failed to properly maintain his voice or had caught a cold.
However, if he really had a cold, would it not have been safer to choose a calmer song within his ability? If the television station knew about the situation, they would not have refused to let him change songs. After all, this affected the live performance quality.
But this was Yu Lun’s own matter, and Xu Tang did not want to comment.
As for Zong Xuan, he had always steadily built himself up step by step. He understood very well that rushing for quick success only led to failure, so he had never really looked highly upon artists like this. In his opinion, people like that were destined not to have a long career.
Although Yu Lun had broken his voice, and his voice remained hoarse afterward, he still insisted on finishing the song.
The host then came onto the stage, completed the remaining segments, and the gala ended.
“Want to find a movie to watch, or go to sleep?” Zong Xuan asked.
“Let’s sleep. We’ll get up early tomorrow and go home.” Xu Tang replied.
Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve. They needed to get up early and return to the Zong family home.
“Alright.”
Zong Xuan turned off the television and picked Xu Tang up in one motion.
“What are you doing? I can walk.” Xu Tang was still wrapped in a blanket, making it inconvenient for him to struggle.
“Sleeping.” Zong Xuan smiled.
He carried him outside and stopped at the doorway.
“Turn off the lights.”
Xu Tang reached out and switched off the lights.
Zong Xuan directly carried him back to his own bedroom.
Xu Tang tried to get out of bed and return to his room, but Zong Xuan immediately pulled him back.
“Isn’t sleeping alone boring?”
“I think it’s quite interesting.” Xu Tang replied.
Zong Xuan pulled the blanket over both of them.
“Just sleep here. If you need anything during the night, you can call me directly.”
Of course, that was just an excuse. The real goal was to keep Xu Tang by his side.
“…”
Xu Tang was speechless.
Why was this person so clingy? Why had he never noticed before?!
However, Xu Tang really was a little sleepy, and he could not be bothered arguing with Zong Xuan. He simply closed his eyes and went to sleep.
After all, Zong Xuan would not do anything. Sleeping was just sleeping.
The next day, after the two of them finished breakfast, they packed a few changes of clothes, checked every corner of the house, and set off for the Zong family home.
On the way, they stopped by a supermarket to buy some New Year goods. Although it was not really necessary, showing up empty-handed would not look good.
After the car parked in the courtyard, Zong Xuan first helped Xu Tang get out. Then he took the New Year goods from the trunk. With one hand carrying the items and the other holding Xu Tang’s hand, he walked inside.
The Xu family had also just arrived.
Seeing the two of them enter like this, everyone had their own thoughts, but no one said anything.
After greeting both sets of parents, Jiang Jie pulled Xu Tang over beside her and carefully asked how his health had recovered.
Zong Xuan helped Zong Yi bring drinks and fruit to the coffee table. The servants at home had all gone back to their own families for the New Year. Since the Xu family were guests, it would not be appropriate to ask them to do things, so they could only handle everything themselves.
Xu Zhou came in to help—more accurately, he came to help Zong Yi.
Zong Xuan could only silently carry his own things. He even specially picked out several kinds of fruit Xu Tang liked, placed them in a separate small plate, and put it in front of him.
The two families chatted happily together.
For lunch, everyone simply ate something casual. The focus was on the New Year’s Eve dinner, so there was no need to rush.
Seeing that Zong Xuan was taking such careful care of Xu Tang and that Xu Tang’s complexion looked genuinely good rather than fake, Xu Baijun and Su Ling felt much better.
It seemed that the relationship between the two children still had room to recover.
Jiang Jie and Zong Shi were also quite satisfied with Zong Xuan’s performance. If Zong Xuan could truly live well with Xu Tang, their guilt toward Xu Tang’s parents would also lessen somewhat.
“Where did Big Brother go?” While preparing lunch, Zong Xuan asked Zong Yi, who was heating food together with him.
“I don’t know. He said he had something important to do and needed to go out. He’ll come back tonight.” Zong Yi said.
He had also wanted to ask more, but seeing that Zong Huang had no intention of explaining at all, he knew he would not get anything useful out of him.
“He’s being so mysterious…”
Zong Xuan, who originally was not that curious, became curious after hearing this. This had never happened before.
“Could it be that he has a girlfriend?”
“Probably not? I haven’t heard anything.” Zong Yi thought about it, but could not think of anything particularly different from usual. He did not seem like someone who had a girlfriend.
“If Big Brother doesn’t want to say, none of us would notice anyway.” Based on past experience, that was usually how it was.
“Then there’s nothing we can do. We can only wait until Big Brother tells us himself. Maybe you’re just thinking too much.”
“Mm.”
While they were talking, Xu Wan entered the kitchen.
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“No need. We’re just reheating some dishes. Zong Xuan and I can handle it.” Zong Yi smiled.
In the evening, they would inevitably need help from the Xu family, but there was no need right now.
Xu Wan did not leave immediately. Instead, she walked over to Zong Xuan and looked at him.
Zong Xuan smiled and said, “Second Sister, I know what you want to ask. Tang Tang is willing to give me a chance to pursue him. I’ll work hard.”
Xu Wan patted his shoulder and did not say anything more before leaving.
She had only come to ask for an answer. Everything else was between Xu Tang and Zong Xuan themselves.
Zong Xuan looked at Zong Yi and asked, “Second Brother, how are you and Big Brother?”
These past few years, he truly had not paid enough attention to his family. Recently, he had reflected on this and was slowly trying to change.
Zong Yi smiled. “We’re doing quite well.”
He was not someone who liked discussing his private matters. Even with his family, there were some things he understood in his own heart. Knowing that Xu Zhou treated him well was enough.
“Then that’s good.” Zong Xuan was not trying to gossip. Knowing they were getting along well was enough.
They ate a simple lunch.
In the evening, Zong Huang returned and brought some New Year goods with him.
Dinner was mostly already prepared. The two families gathered together and had a lively meal. Afterwards, they sat together watching the Spring Festival Gala.
Meanwhile, Zong Xuan set up a small table and pulled Zong Yi, Xu Wan, and Zong Huang over to play mahjong.
At midnight, Zong Huang and Xu Zhou went outside to set off firecrackers, while Jiang Jie and Su Ling cooked dumplings in the kitchen.
The steaming hot dumplings were served. The younger generation wished the elders a happy New Year and received red envelopes. After eating, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.
Whether intentionally or not, Jiang Jie did not prepare a separate room for Xu Tang.
Zong Xuan naturally brought Xu Tang back to his own room, silently giving his clever mother a hundred compliments in his heart.
Looking at Xu Tang, who had no defenses against him at all, his heart softened completely.