After stepping out of the elevator, Qin Tian saw that Xia Nuannuan's apartment door was ajar.
Even from a distance, he could hear the sounds of laughter and merriment from inside.
A hint of envy flickered in his eyes, and a gentle smile graced his handsome face as he walked towards the door.
"Nuannuan!"
As he neared the entrance, he called out into the apartment.
"Coming, coming, brother-in-law's here! Ya Xin, hurry up, let's go get our red envelopes."
Xia Xue's excited voice came from within.
Immediately after, Qin Tian saw the girl excitedly pulling Xia Ya Xin as they ran happily towards the entryway.
"Brother-in-law, Happy New Year!!"
Xia Xue exclaimed loudly with a beaming smile, blinking her large eyes energetically at him, her face practically screaming "Give me the red envelope."
Xia Ya Xin, standing beside her, softly echoed the sentiment with a blush.
"Happy New Year, brother-in-law!"
"Happy New Year, you two are quite eager!"
Qin Tian watched them with amusement and reached for his pocket.
"That's a given!"
Xia Xue's eyes lit up, filled with anticipation.
Qin Tian took out a few prepared New Year red envelopes, picked one, and handed it to Xia Xue first.
"Thank you, brother-in-law, you're so generous!"
Xia Xue took the red envelope with a smile as bright as a flower, clasping her hands together and bowing in thanks.
Through this gesture, she also discreetly felt the thickness of the envelope, her eyes nearly closing with delight.
"Here, Ya Xin, yours."
Qin Tian took out another and handed it to Xia Ya Xin.
"No, no, I can't accept it."
Xia Ya Xin waved her hands in a flustered manner, politely refusing.
Her brother-in-law helping her with her studies and improving her grades had already made her very grateful. Her brother-in-law was still a student himself, so she couldn't accept this red envelope.
"Take it, go buy some study materials or tools."
Qin Tian smiled and made to place the red envelope into her hand.
However, Xia Ya Xin took a step back, avoiding his touch, and clasped her hands behind her back, shaking her head vigorously in refusal.
"Nuannuan."
Qin Tian looked helplessly at Xia Nuannuan, who was walking over from behind.
Xia Nuannuan smiled as she approached, taking the red envelope from his hand with one hand and gently taking Xia Ya Xin's hand with the other, placing the red envelope into it.
"Be good and take it!"
"Sister Nuannuan, I really can't accept it, Dad would scold me."
Xia Ya Xin said with a bit of a pout.
"Ya Xin, you worry too much. We've already called him brother-in-law, so accepting a New Year red envelope is quite normal. It's fine, your brother-in-law isn't short on money."
Xia Xue said persuasively with a smile.
It would have felt a bit awkward to only accept it herself, so bringing Xia Ya Xin along was definitely necessary.
"This..."
Xia Ya Xin's expression was conflicted, unsure of what to do.
Xia Nuannuan leaned in and whispered something into her ear, after which Xia Ya Xin slightly nodded and accepted the red envelope.
Afterward, they entered the house and went into the living room.
Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Xia, Third Uncle, Aunt Su...
Qin Tian, with a hearty and sunny smile, went around offering New Year greetings to the elders.
The elders all nodded in response with smiles and then took out their prepared red envelopes.
Only then did Qin Tian guess what Xia Nuannuan had said earlier; it was likely that the elders had prepared red envelopes for him, telling her to accept it with peace of mind.
Without being overly ostentatious, Qin Tian accepted the well wishes from the Xia family elders.
The elders were quite pleased with him as their potential son-in-law, and the red envelopes they gave were not meager.
His pockets clearly couldn't hold them all, so he had to ask Xia Nuannuan to keep them for him, taking them to her room.
Finally, Qin Tian's gaze fell upon Xia Junjie, who was sitting there cracking melon seeds.
He had naturally prepared a red envelope for this younger brother as well.
However, since his younger brother showed no intention of offering New Year greetings, it wasn't appropriate for him to just hand it over.
"Jun Jie, don't you see anyone? Don't you know basic manners?"
His father chided him with a frown.
Xia Junjie, who was still somewhat in awe of his father, glanced at Qin Tian and perfunctorily offered a New Year greeting.
"Happy New Year!"
Qin Tian responded with a smile and reached into his pocket for the red envelope.
He was an adult and didn't need to bicker with a rebellious teenager.
"Brother-in-law, he's being so perfunctory, don't give it to him!"
Xia Xue whispered into his ear, lowering her voice.
Qin Tian merely smiled and still walked forward, handing the red envelope to Xia Junjie.
"There really is a red envelope?"
Xia Junjie was taken aback and instinctively wanted to refuse, but upon noticing the substantial thickness of the envelope out of the corner of his eye, he accepted it quite readily.
"Th-thank you."
He said his thanks with an unnatural expression and casually tucked the red envelope into his shirt pocket.
"Xiao Qin, come sit and have some tea."
The old man beckoned with a smile.
"Okay!"
Qin Tian responded and walked over to sit beside the old man.
Third Uncle got a paper cup and poured him a cup of tea. Qin Tian accepted it with both hands, feeling somewhat overwhelmed.
"Here, eat some of this. Your Grandma made it herself, it's delicious!"
The old man handed him a piece of puffed rice candy.
"Grandma made this."
Qin Tian accepted it with a surprised expression, took a bite to taste it, and then gave a thumbs-up to his Grandma, who was sitting not far away.
"Grandma, this is really delicious!"
"Then eat more."
Grandma's smile reached her eyes.
After drinking tea and chatting for half an hour, Qin Tian took his leave.
There would be many visitors on the first day of the Lunar New Year, especially for a large family like the Xia family, so it wasn't ideal for him to stay too long.
After a few polite attempts to keep him, the elders didn't press further.
"Brother, do you have any plans this afternoon?"
Xia Nuannuan walked him to the door, handed him the red envelopes she had been keeping for him, and asked with a sweet smile.
"Nothing much, why?"
Qin Tian replied with a smile.
"We're planning to go watch movies this afternoon, catch up on all the Lunar New Year releases. Would you like to join us?"
Xia Nuannuan invited him.
"Sure, call me when you're about to head out, and I'll drive over."
Qin Tian readily agreed.
"Mhm, mhm!"
Xia Nuannuan nodded repeatedly.
Qin Tian glanced behind her and playfully asked, "Do we get the first kiss of the New Year?"
Xia Nuannuan froze upon hearing this, and then a blush spread across her face. She gave him a shy glare.
"Never mind, you initiated yesterday, so I'll take the initiative today!"
As Qin Tian finished speaking, before she could react, he stepped forward, wrapped an arm around her waist, and lowered his head to kiss her soft lips.
"Wow, Ya Xin, come quick, look, Sister Nuannuan and brother-in-law are kissing again."
Xia Xue's excited voice suddenly rang out.
Xia Nuannuan's closed eyes instantly snapped open. She pushed Qin Tian away in a panic, turning her head in embarrassment and shouting, "Xiao Xue, shut up!"
Xia Xue stuck out her tongue and made a funny face before running back into the living room.
"Honestly, it's all your fault!"
Xia Nuannuan glared at Qin Tian reproachfully.
Qin Tian shrugged with a playful grin and teased, "Just ignore her, won't you? It's been a year, and you're still shy?"
"Hurry up and go, you need to go!"
Xia Nuannuan, her face flushed, pushed him out the door.
"Alright, I'm going. Call me."
Qin Tian made a phone gesture and turned to leave with a smile.