Even After Breaking Up, We Still Have to Go Home for New Year's Eve Dinner Together

A companion story to Don't Pick Up a Wife at the Crematorium

A silly little collection of short stories to help you unwind

Lin Qi and Yu Yao had broken up.

They sat at the same table for the family reunion dinner, but didn't exchange a single glance. So cold, like strangers.

Their sister-in-law loved a bit of drama. With a cigarette in her mouth, she leaned over to whisper to their eldest brother: "They've definitely split. Wanna bet? The loser has to be on the bottom tonight."

Lin Qi: "..."

Could you not make me part of your sex game?

Yu Yao wore a face like he'd been cheated out of eight million. After dinner, he grabbed his coat and headed out. Lin Qi asked without thinking, "Where are you going?"

Yu Yao, cold and rebellious: "None of your business."

Sister-in-law, rubbing her hands together: "I win!"

Eldest brother, caught in the crossfire: "?"

.

At two in the morning, that bastard still wasn't home. Lin Qi tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. In the end, he couldn't help calling him, frowning as he said, "Get your ass back here."

Yu Yao sneered. "Who are you? What gives you the right to tell me what to do?"

Lin Qi: "I'm your damn brother."

Yu Yao wouldn't be swayed. "What kind of brother? Your ex-husband-brother?"

On a winter night in a southern city, their breath turned to mist. Yu Yao stood beneath a streetlight with a bottle of liquor in his hand, his shadow a thin sliver on the ground.

Lin Qi laughed in exasperation. "Try talking to me in that tone again. Let's see if I won't beat the crap out of you like I did when we were kids."

There was a moment of silence on the phone. The only sounds were the occasional firecrackers going off on Yu Yao's end.

Lin Qi ran out of patience and was about to deliver one last threat. Then a strained, quiet gasp came through the phone, so faint it sounded like someone was crying.

"..." His anger evaporated. His voice softened considerably. "I wasn't really threatening you. Give me a break. Why are you crying?"

The sobbing grew more obvious, and Lin Qi began to panic. "Stop fucking crying. Stay right there. I'll come get you."

"You're divorcing me, so why do you care what happens to me?" Yu Yao's voice trembled, then he gave another cold laugh. "I'm by the river, about to jump in."

"What? Don't do anything crazy." Lin Qi leaped out of bed, threw on some clothes, and rushed for the door. "Fine, I won't divorce you! I really won't!"

A two-time award-winning actor, Yu Yao was nowhere near the river. He slowly straightened up from where he'd been leaning against the streetlight, brushed the dust off himself, and calmly took a sip of beer.

Yu Yao: "All right, then."

Reader's guide:

One-on-one romance, both leads are each other's only partners, younger seme

An amateur, scheming sweetheart with Oscar-worthy acting skills x a short-tempered but hopelessly gullible guy

The seme was adopted by the uke's family. They are not blood-related and are not registered in the same household.

Theme: Be honest