Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

Bai Li listened to Zhang Qian's cloying voice, his Adam's apple bobbing, and he swallowed hard.

"Making porridge so late at night? But the old house has wooden doors and windows, so the sound insulation isn't good."

Zhang Qian turned her head and looked at Chen Tingting provocatively:

"Did you hear that? Big brother's calling you out. He knows you're bad at games because you yell so loudly every time."

Chen Tingting's cheeks flushed red.

Normally, if someone dared to tease her like that, she would have been slapped across the face long ago.

But now, unusually, she didn't throw a tantrum; instead, she playfully nuzzled her face against Bai Li's shoulder.

"That's not my fault, brother. The map of the secret dam is just too big."

"Moreover, without a stamina bar, he can only carry me around the map."

Lin Xiaoshuang sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) like a duck, looking exactly like a child eagerly wanting a toy, tugging at Bai Li's clothes and urging him on:

"Hurry up, hurry up! Stop dawdling! I need to climb the ranks!"

As she spoke, she darted into the other side of the covers, her face full of anticipation.

Li Jiaxin crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, coldly snorting:

"Can you please line up? Don't you know any manners? Follow the first-come, first-served order!"

The game started quickly, and Bai Li was just about to make a move to flank and ambush someone.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Three gunshots rang out from the container. It was unclear whether it was Chen Tingting or Zhang Qian who made the noise, which instantly exposed their intentions, and a battle was about to break out.

"Let's launch a fierce attack!"

So everyone relaxed and stopped sneaking around.

But considering that he was at his elders' house and it was the middle of the night, he forced himself to turn the game volume down to the minimum, and only dared to let out a slightly loud scream when he encountered danger.

......

Bai Li is indeed skilled at gaming. He played a total of eight games, and the four women managed to win hundreds of millions in each game.

Finally, after Chen Tingting said she had enough coins, Bai Li put down her phone and lay back down on the bed.

After all, in this FPS game, if you're leading a team in a fierce attack, they won't be equipped with any gear, so you'll need to equip yourself with full gear, which consumes a lot of resources each time.

And those girls are all terrible at the game, and sometimes they just run around the map aimlessly and win by doing nothing!

I closed my eyes, and sleepiness washed over me.

Not long after, in a daze, strange noises entered my ears.

gurgle...gurgle...

Why are there birds chirping in the middle of the night?

Bai Li woke up with a start, opened her eyes, and looked up.

Li Jiaxin was facing away from him. Ya Zi was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), her head slightly lowered, but her eyes were looking out the window.

Bai Li followed her gaze and saw a television outside the window connected to a game console, where someone was playing Angry Birds. No wonder there were bird calls.

Bai Li began to recall, and soon he remembered that when he was a child, his parents had bought him a game console, which seemed to be a Sony brand.

That's right, it's definitely a Sony device!

"What, you want to play this?" Bai Li stopped him, "Listen to me, it's late, let's not play."

He was about to push her away when he realized it was getting late and he should rest.

"No, I haven't had enough. I'm really addicted. Let's play a few more rounds." Li Jiaxin's cool side kicked in. This kind of spirited young woman is the most hardcore when it comes to gaming.

Then, she turned around. Although her body did not touch Bai Li, her eyes were extremely threatening, as if to say, "If you don't agree, I'll keep staring at you like this."

Bai Li shivered and said, "The more you push me, the less I want to play."

Li Jiaxin looked at Bai Li with a hint of resentment: "But that game looks really fun."

Bai Li felt a chill run down her spine from her gaze, and could only think to herself, "Oh well, it's the New Year, I'll just play along if she wants."

He sat up and began to put on his coat:

"Come on, let's go to the yard and get the game console."

......

The next morning.

Sunlight streamed into the room through the window lattice.

Chen Tingting sat up with her messy red hair and stretched.

Turning around, I saw that Bai Li was still fast asleep, while that brat Lin Xiaoshuang was clinging to Bai Li with both her hands and feet, with most of her body pressed against Bai Li's broad chest.

"That brat's sleeping posture is really ugly."

Chen Tingting rolled her eyes and reached out to grab Lin Xiaoshuang's arm, intending to move her away.

It wouldn't budge even when pulled hard.

Chen Tingting was stunned.

She's a seasoned fighter and has plenty of strength. Normally, she could lift Lin Xiaoshuang without any effort, so why is she so heavy today?

"Xiao Shuang needs to lose weight," Chen Tingting muttered, increasing her pressure. "How come she's gotten so heavy after just two days at her older brother's house? Did they feed her pig feed?"

Lin Xiaoshuang was pulled half-asleep by the brute force, rubbing her sleepy eyes and pouting as she mumbled a reply:

"Uh... because the food my brother made last night was so delicious, I was stuffed, so it's a bit heavy."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Qian and Li Jiaxin, who were getting dressed inside the room, both stopped what they were doing.

Chen Tingting's eyes widened, her molars clenched so tightly they made a grinding sound, and she grabbed Lin Xiaoshuang's ear:

"Lin! Xiao! Shuang! You glutton! You've been stealing food again!"

"Ouch! That hurts!" Lin Xiaoshuang cried out, covering her ears.

Chen Tingting pointed at the very faint dark circles under Bai Li's eyes, her anger flaring up:

"Making your older brother get up in the middle of the night to cook for you, you really don't know how to be considerate!"

"I'm not!" Lin Xiaoshuang protested, looking aggrieved. "Big brother is clearly hungry too."

"Alright, alright, stop arguing, get up quickly, it's time to eat!" Bai Li sighed, rubbing his forehead as he looked at these lively kids.

......

The days of the Lunar New Year flew by.

In the following days, the Bai family's old house became a playground for the four young women.

Bai Li also began to live like an emperor.

Every morning when I open my eyes, someone has already squeezed out the toothpaste and brought the water for washing my face to my bedside.

During the meal, four girls surrounded him, picking out food, removing fish bones, and peeling shrimp shells, almost chewing them up and feeding them to him.

The whole family grew to like them more and more.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Bai Weiguo and Wang Xiulian made a point of bringing all of them along when visiting relatives.

Four brightly colored heads followed behind the elderly couple, attracting a lot of attention in the village.

Those relatives in the village who used to look down on the Bai family have now all changed to a fawning attitude.

The four girls were quite proud, putting away their usual swear words and addressing each other as "uncle," "aunt," "grandpa," and "grandma" in sweet, honey-like terms.

Bai Jian became Bai Li's number one lackey, running around every day and bragging to everyone how awesome his cousin was.

In the evening, the family gathered around the stove to roast oranges.

Grandpa was happily watching TV while smoking the cigarettes Bai Li had bought for him.

Grandma held Lin Xiaoshuang's hand and taught her how to sew shoe soles.

Zhang Qian popped a peeled roasted orange into Bai Li's mouth, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons with a smile: "Big brother, is it sweet?"

"Sweet." Bai Li leaned back in her chair.

Chen Tingting leaned closer and mysteriously pulled out a handful of marbles she had won from the village store: "Big brother, I've won them all from all the kids in the village."

Li Jiaxin brought over a hot water bottle and tucked it into Bai Li's arms: "Warm your hands, don't get cold."

Bai Weiguo took a sip of hot tea, pointed outside the courtyard, and began to speak:

"That kid Xiao Li was really naughty when he was little. When he was seven or eight, he took Bai Jian to blast cow dung. He couldn't outrun them and got covered in dung. When he came back, I chased him for two miles with a broom handle."

"Hahaha!" The four girls laughed so hard they were doubled over.

Chen Tingting slapped her thigh:

"Uncle, you hit him too lightly! If it were me, I'd make him wash his pants before he came in!"

"That's right!" Wang Xiulian chimed in, her face beaming.

"Back then, he cried his eyes out and had to carry a basin to the river to wash himself. Now he's successful and has brought back so many sensible daughters. I can laugh in my dreams."

Lin Xiaoshuang leaned on her grandmother's shoulder and said sweetly, "Grandma, how about we come back every year to celebrate the New Year with you? I also want to learn how to put up paper-cut window decorations."

"Okay! Okay! Grandma will teach you how to cut!" The old lady smiled from ear to ear, her wrinkled face relaxing.

Looking at the warm and noisy scene before him, Bai Li felt a sense of peace he had never experienced before.

There was no backstabbing or scheming.

Give them a little warmth, and they will give you the whole world in return.

This feeling of being needed and relied upon is so pure that it's addictive.

This is the true spirit of the New Year; this is what life should be like.

The system panel refreshed the data in my mind.

[Target: Lin Xiaoshuang. Current affection level: 90.]

[Target: Zhang Qian. Current Affection Level: 90.]

[Target: Chen Tingting. Current Affection Level: 90.]

[Target: Li Jiaxin. Current affection level: 90.]

The warmth they had experienced these past few days, which they had never felt before, brought them one step closer to becoming their own Deadpool.

Bai Li closed her eyes, enjoying the moment comfortably.

After returning to the city after the New Year, it's time to put the short drama project on the agenda.

Li Mengmeng and Jiang Ruyue have been urging me to go back these past few days; it's time.