Why bother with dating when you already have a cat?

But sometimes life is unpredictable. Ai Qing probably never imagined that the cat she raised would one day become her girlfriend.

And judging from how she behaved at the dinner table, her family seemed to like her quite a bit.

"You two are doing your jobs now, one of you is writing a book, and the other is doing live streaming. You've also opened a cat cafe. That should be pretty much how things will be from now on, right?" Yao Qiang said as she ate her meal, talking about their current lives.

Ai Qing glanced at Xiao Yu, then nodded: "That should be it."

"So you two have settled down now," Yao Qiang continued, picking up where she left off. "Haven't you thought about the future? Like... hmm?"

"What are you humming about?" Ai Qing said speechlessly. "Relax, we'll think about it ourselves, you don't need to rush us."

"I didn't rush you." Yao Qiang was still thinking about the names she had been considering for their two children. Although she said she didn't rush them, she was really looking forward to it.

These days, once elders raise their children, they always think about when their children will be able to get married, start a career, and carry on the family line.

Ai Qing couldn't quite understand this idea.

In his view, marriage and having children should be a voluntary choice, not a mission that must be fulfilled.

It's as if you're not human if you don't get married or have children.

Ai Qing found this idea quite strange, but unfortunately, the elders all held this traditional mindset.

The good news is that Ai Qing is pregnant.

He could satisfy his elders' expectations, and he himself was not averse to being with Xiaoyu.

I just don't know if I'll be able to have children...

Ai Qing glanced at Xiao Yu's belly and wondered if Xiao Yu would be able to get pregnant after she turned from a cat into a human.

After all, Xiaoyu hasn't had any symptoms like menstruation yet.

Ai Qing herself didn't care, but she was worried that her family would have objections if Xiao Yu really couldn't get pregnant.

However, since it was the Lunar New Year, Ai Qing didn't plan to think too much about things that could affect her mood.

After the New Year's Eve dinner, he got up and called to Xiaoyu, "Let's go set off fireworks."

Chapter 218 Warm Current Ignites the Flame

Setting off fireworks on New Year's Eve is a nationwide tradition.

Upon hearing that fireworks were allowed, Xiaoyu immediately stood up from her seat and followed Aiqing to the living room sofa, where they picked up a large bag of fireworks they had brought back from beside the coffee table.

"Don't put the big ones in the yard, put them in the open space in the community, understand!" Lang Xiangying reminded them as she watched the two impatient figures walk away.

"Okay, Grandma!"

Ai Qing responded, then turned to look at them, "Aren't you coming?"

"Let's watch the big fireworks at dawn," Yao Qiang said with a smile. "You guys can play with the smaller ones in the yard for now."

"Row."

Ai Qing nodded, then took Xiao Yu's hand and walked towards the courtyard.

They bought quite a few kinds of fireworks. Apart from the two large boxes of regular fireworks that they were going to set off at midnight, the rest were mostly small and medium-sized ones.

For example, when Ai Qing was a child, her two favorite types of firecrackers were friction firecrackers and snap firecrackers.

The former only requires wiping it near the box to light it, then throwing it a distance away will cause it to explode in a few seconds.

As for snap pops, they're even simpler; just throw them hard at the ground and they'll explode.

Ai Qing had Xiao Yu carry the bag first, and then eagerly took out two boxes from it. She first took out a firecracker and smashed it directly onto the ground in the yard.

boom!

With a loud thud, Xiaoyu was startled and stopped in her tracks before she realized what had happened.

"Brother! You scared me." Little Fish pouted, a little angry. "You should have told me beforehand."

"My fault, my fault." Ai Qing hadn't played this game for several years, and she didn't expect the sound to be so loud.

He walked back to Xiaoyu, kissed her on the forehead, then slipped a firecracker into her hand, and took the bag from her and placed it at the doorway between the living room and the yard.

"Come on, you try it too, just throw it hard on the ground."

"Hmm...like this?" Xiaoyu held the firecracker in her hand and slammed it hard onto the ground in the yard. The next second, it went off with a bang, and a spark could be seen flashing. "Ah! It went off!"

"Isn't it fun?" Ai Qing chuckled and stuffed a few more into Xiao Yu's hand.

He pinched one in his palm, walked into the yard, and threw one in front of the little fish.

boom!

"Brother!" Little Fish retreated repeatedly, like a frightened deer. "You scared me!"

"Don't worry, this thing isn't very powerful." Ai Qing threw one at the foot of her foot as well.

With a bang, aside from the sound, there was really no other impact.

Seeing this, Xiaoyu's lingering fear of firecrackers gradually faded. With a quick glance, she picked up a firecracker and threw it at Ai Qing's feet.

boom! boom! boom!

Soon, a series of sounds rang out in the yard, as the two of them were having a great time.

After using up a box of firecrackers, Ai Qing taught her how to play with sparklers. Once she learned how, she started using them on the buckets in the yard, and they even managed to create water splashes.

After Xiaoyu's excitement subsided a bit, Ai Qing pulled her back to the doorway between the yard and the living room and sat down on the steps.

He told Xiaoyu to sit down, took out his phone, turned on the camera, and prepared, while he took out a pyramid-shaped fireworks box called "Fire Tree and Silver Flowers" from his bag.

Holding the firework box, Ai Qing walked to the middle of the yard. She touched her pocket and suddenly realized that she didn't smoke, so she didn't have a lighter.

Too lazy to go back to the living room to ask his dad for more, he simply took out the firecrackers he hadn't finished using, rubbed them on the box, and after they sparked, he lit them on the fuse of the firecracker.

Ai Qing tossed the firecracker aside and immediately ran back, quickly sitting down next to Xiao Yu.

At that moment, the fuse of the fireworks quickly burned inside, and with a bang from a firecracker in the corner, the fireworks started to hiss.

A series of golden-red sparks, like a string of fiery snakes, rapidly rose around the top of the pyramid-shaped fireworks box.

Then three or four more strings of sparks of different colors rose up, and when they came together, they looked like a small tree, and they were even spinning.

The little fish's eyes were glued to the dazzling display of lights, as if stars were twinkling in them.

The screen on her phone faithfully captured this beautiful scene, watching the fireworks light up, bloom, and then gradually fade away half a minute later.

As the fireworks in front of her gradually faded away, the little fish seemed to still see the outline of the sparks in her eyes. Her eyes were wide open, unwilling to miss a single detail.

"So beautiful!" Xiaoyu finally realized what was happening as the screen on her phone gradually dimmed. She turned to the side, grabbed Ai Qing's arm, and shook it vigorously. "Brother! Is there any more? Is there any more? I want more!"

"Don't rush, don't rush." ​​Ai Qing chuckled and took out several similar fireworks from the bag. "Flying Dragon in the Sky, Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Auspiciousness, and a Seven-Colored Fountain, Pear Blossom Rain, which one do you want to see first?"

"All!"

"Let's do it one at a time then."

As Ai Qing said this, she picked up the firework box called the Seven-Colored Fountain, then thought for a moment and looked at Xiao Yu: "Why don't you give it a try?"

"what?"

"Let's light some fireworks!" Ai Qing laughed. "I'll go get you a lighter. You should try it too, it's really exciting."

With that, Ai Qing shoved the colorful fountain into Xiao Yu's hand and ran quickly into the living room, grabbing a lighter from Ai Zhongguo's hand.

"Look, press this button on the lighter, and a flame will come out. Aim it at this fuse, light it, and then run away immediately," Ai Qing explained to Xiao Yu in a simple way.

The little fish is so smart now; it learns in no time. After taking the lighter, it ran to the middle of the yard, placed the colorful fountain's firework box on the ground, found the fuse, and carefully pressed the lighter.

Although it sounds simple when you listen to it, it becomes quite difficult when you actually try to do it yourself.

Xiaoyu took several deep breaths before finally mustering the courage to bring the lighter flame close to the fuse.

Instantly, sparks flew from the fuse.

With a startled cry, Xiaoyu dropped the lighter and ran quickly behind Ai Qing before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Where's the lighter?

"Ah!" Reminded by Ai Qing, Xiao Yu realized that she had dropped the lighter in her nervousness and hurriedly ran back to pick it up.

However, Ai Qing had already grabbed her back and hugged Xiaoyu from behind, chuckling as she said, "Watch first, then pick it up, you silly girl."

"I won't..." Little Fish pouted, about to retort, when suddenly her eyes lit up.

Seven different colored sparks unfolded like a fan, truly resembling a fountain, scattering light.

The little fish's eyes sparkled as it stared intently at the beautiful scenery before it, almost forgetting to breathe.

"You're done, snap out of it."

The colorful fountain lasts for about twenty or thirty seconds, but even after the light fades, the little fish are still savoring the experience.

It wasn't until Ai Qing waved her hand in front of her twice that Xiao Yu came back to her senses, still feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

Then Ai Qing set off a dragon and phoenix auspicious firework, which burst into bloom amidst Xiao Yu's expectant gaze.

After setting off three similar fireworks in a row, Xiaoyu got a little tired of them, so Aiqing put away the fireworks of the same type and took out two Gatling gun fireworks instead.

"Come on, let's go outside." Ai Qing, holding two Gatling guns, excitedly led Xiao Yu out of the yard and onto the open space in the community.

In the southern part of Jinpan Yunting Mansion, there is a small pond in the middle, accompanied by a small pavilion, and a small pebble path extends outwards, with an open space on each side resembling a small square.

It's called a small square, but it's actually quite small, so it's usually just an empty space where people shout.

Lang Xiangying and her friends usually dance in the square here.

However, on New Year's Day, the open space is filled with people setting off fireworks and firecrackers.

Most of the people here are young people, and there are also quite a few little kids, as well as some young parents accompanying them. Most of the older people stay at home and don't come out.

Ai Qing took Xiao Yu's hand and led her to the edge of the open space, where the small pond was not far away.

Ai Qing put down the Gatling gun in her hand, hoisted it onto her shoulder, and then handed the lighter to Xiao Yu: "Here, light the butt of this one."

"Huh?" Xiaoyu paused for a moment, a little hesitant. "Should we just light it directly? Wouldn't that be dangerous?"

In Xiaoyu's mind, once this kind of firework is lit, it will definitely emit sparks outward in circles, just like the fireworks from before.

If this were lit, wouldn't Ai Qing instantly turn into a spark person?

Ai Qing guessed what she was hesitating about and said with a smile, "Don't worry, this one is different from the previous one. You'll see once you light it."