After Transmigrating through Books, I Transmigrated BackCh25 - New Year

On New Year’s Eve, Xu Qiao received a call from Mrs. Xu.

“Qiaoqiao, when are you coming home? Tomorrow is New Year’s…” gUiyse

Fresh from a shower, Xu Qiao sat on his bed, drying his hair with a towel, caught off guard by his mother’s inquiry

Honestly, he didn’t really want to go back. He had planned to spend the New Year on his own. Xu Qiao always felt like an outsider in his mother’s family of three. If he went, sitting at a table, he wouldn’t have much to say, just adding a bit of awkwardness.

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But the voice on the other end of the phone was cautious. As the refusal reached his throat, Xu Qiao swallowed it back.

Xu Qiao lay down and said quietly, “I’ll come back tomorrow.” uUcvFl

Upon hearing Xu Qiao’s words, Mrs. Xu immediately exclaimed happily, “Great! Mom will prepare dinner, and your younger brother is looking forward to your return.”

After hanging up, Xu Qiao stared at the ceiling light for a while, sighed, changed into pajamas, put on a mask and hat, and left. Li Feifei had gone home for the New Year. Mo Chenghong’s business car was parked in the underground parking lot.

Driving out, the streets were bustling with people, a few kids playing with sparklers, the festive atmosphere evident everywhere.

Shops adorned with red lanterns lined the streets, creating a river of red when seen from afar, with scattered lights dotting the scene.

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Xu Qiao parked the car, entered a clothing store, picked out two down jackets, and bought some snacks, placing them in the trunk.

The next morning, Xu Qiao loaded the neatly packed suitcase into the car and drove towards home. His hometown was in the neighboring province, a journey of three to four hours by car. Despite little traffic and leaving early in the morning, he only reached home in the slightly earlier afternoon.

The small town, secluded and lax in fireworks control, witnessed a group of boys teasing girls with firecrackers. Startled by the noise, a little girl cried, stumbling away unsteadily, almost falling after tripping on a stone.

A pair of hands caught her, tears in her eyes as she looked up to see a good-looking big brother from the TV shows embracing her. eiOD2G

Xu Qiao patted her head, glanced at the boys nearby, and scared disapprovingly, “Don’t scare your little sister.”

The boys, exchanging glances, faces turning red, hid the firecrackers behind them and vigorously nodded in agreement.

Xu Qiao set the little girl down, adjusted her scarf, and headed towards home.

“That big brother is really handsome…” Et1VQd

Most houses in the small town were self-built. Xu Qiao stopped in front of a small courtyard. It was a two-story house with two vegetable gardens, covered with plastic film.

Mrs. Xu was preparing paste, with couplets placed nearby. Standing on tiptoes, she brushed the paste onto the door.

At home, neither husband nor son could stand, leaving her to tackle the task of pasting the Spring Festival couplets alone. Mrs. Xu, petite in stature, struggled a bit when reaching higher spots.

She extended her hand, patiently and meticulously brushing paste onto the paper with her neck tilted back. At that moment, a slender, fair hand took the brush from her. M6fj9

Mrs. Xu was somewhat surprised, turning her head to see Xu Qiao. Her eyes reddened instantly. “Qiaoqiao, you, you’re back.”

Xu Qiao responded with a simple “Hmm” and, after applying the paste, picked up the nearby couplets, delicately affixing them.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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Xu Qiao paused at the door, went outside to retrieve items from the car’s trunk, then stepped into the house.

His gaze shifted to the youth in the wheelchair inside the room — his stepbrother, Qin Jiayue.

Qin Jiayue resembled Mrs. Xu even more than Xu Qiao did, both of them frail. He was fair and delicate, his eyes sparkling. Seeing Xu Qiao, joy clearly lit up his face. “Big Brother.” gqwdHX

Xu Qiao nodded subtly and then placed the items in his hands on the table.

“These are for you.” Xu Qiao took out a women’s down jacket and handed it to Mrs. Xu, placing a smoke-gray down jacket on Qin Jiayue’s lap.

There were also some supplements on the table. Xu Qiao remained silent. Mrs. Xu glanced at him, wiped away a tear, and said, “I’ll put these snacks away. They’ll be good for your uncle.”

“Thank you, Big Brother.” Qin Jiayue hugged the down jacket, his voice low. “I really like it.” XWY3fH

An awkward stiffness lingered in the air.

Xu Qiao averted his gaze and casually remarked, “As long as you like it.”

“Come, have some dumplings first. Qiaoqiao, take a seat.” Mrs. Xu handed chopsticks to Xu Qiao.

Sitting at the table, eating dumplings, Qin Jiayue wheeled his chair closer, but not too close, watching from the side. FDJvLW

After finishing the dumplings, Xu Qiao peeked into the inner room. Qin Zhiming, the honest and paralyzed man, couldn’t move half of his body and spoke unclearly. Seeing Xu Qiao, he seemed visibly pleased and mumbled a few words.

After listening for a while, Xu Qiao understood that he wanted Mrs. Xu to give him a red envelope.

In the evening, Mrs. Xu brought Qin Zhiming out of the room, and the family watched the New Year’s Eve Gala while having dinner.

Qin Jiayue was in high spirits. He talked a lot, expressing his desire to stay up all night and welcome the dawn with his big brother. dxaX0O

Qin Zhiming’s health was not good, so Mrs. Xu took him back to the room early for rest.

In the living room, there were only Qin Jiayue and Xu Qiao.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

“Big Brother, are you leaving after the New Year?”

“Yeah, I’ll leave in a couple of days.” ac6FTS

“Big Brother, I ranked fifth in the end-of-term exams. The teacher said if I maintain it, I might get into T University.”

“That’s great.”

“Big Brother, I watched the TV series you acted in. You were really good, flying over rooftops, so cool.”

Xu Qiao glanced at his legs hanging weakly on the wheelchair and remained silent. x3MBOm

This boy, Qin Jiayue, who claimed he wanted to stay up until dawn, started dozing off around eleven, eyes slowly closing.

As the countdown began on TV with the host’s enthusiastic voice, Xu Qiao glanced over, and the boy was already asleep.

“…3, 2, 1, Happy New Year!”

Cheers erupted. ogZrFV

Outside the window, fireworks lit up the sky, casting colorful flashes of light into the room.

Xu Qiao turned off the TV, stood up, gently lifted Qin Jiayue from the wheelchair, and headed towards his room.

“Happy New Year,” Xu Qiao said softly.

In the opposite room, Mrs. Xu stood outside the door, watching the two boys’ figures, covering her mouth as silent tears flowed. jt1L97

Xu Qiao placed Qin Jiayue on the bed and was about to leave.

In the darkness, Qin Jiayue, still half-asleep, grabbed onto the hem of his clothes.

“Happy New Year… Big Brother, I really like you.”

Xu Qiao didn’t stay at home for long. He soon returned to the capital. Mo Chenghong mentioned that he was arranging for Xu Qiao to participate in a public welfare-related event and a variety show. It seemed that the event was related to charity. R3NmAO

On another front, his role in Chatting About was nearing its end.

After the episode depicting Jin’er’s death aired, countless content creators worked overnight to edit clips featuring him.

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Jin’er’s vulnerability, deep affection, and despair garnered numerous tears. His seamless acting and the scene of dancing in the snow suddenly propelled Chatting About into an overnight sensation, catching everyone off guard.

Previously, Chatting About had been performing well among several concurrent web dramas, showing outstanding results and receiving decent reviews, but it had not reached the explosive level it did now. JEVcdF

Following Jin’er’s death, it occupied the top three trending spots after airing, carrying keywords like Xu Qiao Jin’er, Jin’er Intoxicated Noble Consort, and Jin’er’s death, instantly bringing Chatting About to everyone’s attention.

Those who had watched Chatting About engaged in heated discussions, while passersby who hadn’t clicked into the topic found themselves curious upon seeing edited videos.

In the videos, the young man in a red bridal gown stood in a snowy expanse, a vast and silent scene invoking a sense of loneliness.

Snowflakes adorned his dark hair as he poured and drank wine, singing lines and waving his water sleeves in a moonlit snowy night, a sight so captivating that people hesitated to blink. B1YM8X

Singing “Intoxicated Noble Consort,” his dance mimicked the playful demeanor of a tipsy noble consort, with seductive eyes. As he downed the third cup of poisoned wine, the laughter on his face, the melancholy in his eyes, blended with the final lyrics, effortlessly eliciting tears.

The scene where Si Cheng knelt in the swirling snow, holding him, was also transformed into artwork by many illustrators.

The viewership of Chatting About on the platform skyrocketed, leaving other web dramas far behind.

「Chunyu Yuan must have had feelings for Jin’er! Even if it’s not love, it’s something else, right?! Why else would he shed tears?!」 aPcDNd

「Huhuhu, watching the first few episodes, I really felt like Xu Qiao has this aura that makes you want to bully him, but seeing him die makes me so sad. Can’t someone be kind to the poor thing!」

「I used to be a fan of the novel and really hated Jin’er while reading it, thinking he was annoying and malicious. But now, I find him both detestable and pitiful. Ugh.」

「Unbelievable, truly unbelievable. Xu Qiao managed to make this unlikeable character endearing.」

「That dancing segment, I don’t know how many times I’ve watched it. I cried at the way his eyes shimmered.」 2gFd3R

「Watching Xu Qiao act feels so natural and comforting. It doesn’t feel staged at all, really, it’s just too easy to get immersed in.」

「Were those lyrics in that segment really sung live and not dubbed?」

Faced with such questions, Jiang Wen directly released behind-the-scenes footage from that day.

Due to editing requirements, not all of the singing and dancing segments shown in the series made the final cut. However, when Xu Qiao was performing, to maintain the emotional continuity, he sang and danced the entire segment in its entirety. 2dLhHE

The complete on-set footage was released, leaving netizens astonished.

They thought at least some scenes would be half-hearted, unnecessary, but in reality, the complete lyrics and dance in the shots were like a grand, earnest performance.

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「Weren’t people saying he couldn’t sing or dance? Clearly, he did great in the video. Seems like he has a strong foundation.」

「The complete version is truly outstanding.」 cMrl4s

「He just used a red ribbon to tie his hair. Damn, even with the ribbon loosely tied, letting his hair down, he still looks this beautiful. I haven’t seen many like that.」

Chatting About generated such a significant discussion, naturally, some people couldn’t tolerate it.

「Xu Qiao’s performance is indeed not bad, but this character, the changes compared to the book are too significant, right?」

「I’ve wanted to say this for a long time, it feels like a thorn stuck in my heart. Fans of the novel really can’t stand this drastic modification.」 KwjuC

「Flip through the book, then compare it to the current plot. How much extra screen time did the director give Xu Qiao? Can’t help but suspect if there’s some kind of shady deal.」

「Really… they added too much, completely can’t accept the book being modified like this.」

At this moment, the author of “Chatting about the Passing of Time with a Zither” stepped forward to speak.

*** EcROQx

Thank you, Badger!