Qin Guan took a taxi home. He pushed the door open carefully and saw that his parents were sleeping.

Wherever they were, they made themselves at home. Qin Guan took off his suit and fake collar, feeling slightly drunk. Sweet dreams!

Sweet dreams? Of course! Qin Guan's parents had been there for several days. They were really good at socializing, so they had quickly established a good relations.h.i.+p with the old people and idlers of the neighborhood committees.

His mother had joined the community Yangge group, and his father had made friends with Chinese chess fans.

Qin Guan felt ruthlessly abandoned by them. He had prepared a map and a tour, intending to take them to the Summer Palace and other famous sights, but his plan had met a premature end.

His parents had turned up their noses when they’d heard it. No one liked strolling around in the winter!

Still, they led a happy life before the Spring Festival. His mother had even brought a gong and a drum home for practice.

Clang, clang, clang...

"Qin Guan, ask your mother to stop!"

"No! She didn't stop you when you watched that fis.h.i.+ng compet.i.tion at home."

Both father and son were cowards, but their neighbours would stop her.

...…

Far from her hometown, Qin Guan's mother had failed to make her traditional Spring Festival cold dish, the aniseed smoked Spanish mackerel and salty sausage. She was still able to serve them a large basin of Y city specialties though, such as a.s.sorted stewed meat.

If the king of stewed dishes was the Buddha Skipping Wall, and the household stewed dishes representative was the Northeastern Chinese hotchpotch, one could say that Y city a.s.sorted stewed meat combined the merits of both.

It didn’t require as much work or as many delicate ingredients as the Buddha Skipping Wall, nor was it as bold or cheap as hotchpotch.

It was enjoying to watch Qin Guan’s mother cook. Both Qin Guan and his father would be satisfied with just a.s.sorted stewed meat as their New Year's Eve dinner.

Qin Guan’s mother used various ingredients for the dish, but not very expensive ones. Qin Guan helped her curiously, trying to learn from her.

After cutting the sea cuc.u.mbers, pork bellies, t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es, lunch meat, carrots, chicken b.r.e.a.s.t.s, quail eggs, shrimp, and scallops, she boiled everything in a tasty chicken soup.

Then she took out all the ingredients one by one and put them in a large celadon bowl in a flowery shape. Next, she added a little salt, ajinomoto and cooking wine to the soup and boiled it again to thicken the mixture of cornstarch and water. Finally, the soup was poured into the bowl. The dish was ready.

There were also traditional steamed yellow croakers, prawns, Fushan carbonado and Spanish mackerel dumplings made by Qin Guan's father. It was a simple, but abundant New Year's Eve dinner.

Joy was overflowing. Despite the strange environment, Qin Guan's parents were very happy. It was a completely new experience for them. Squabs had to leave the nest after all. Before they left though, parents liked to accompany them for a while.

Qin Guan's family traditionally watched the CCTV Spring Festival Gala. They heard the sound of a few firecrackers outside. Not long after, firecrackers were forbidden in urban areas.

They didn't go to sleep until they heard the New Year bell.

Happy times flashed by. Several days after the Spring Festival, Qin Guan saw his parents off. His eyes were filled with tears as he watched the train speed away. Am I too sentimental?

After the winter holidays, the "The Legendary Swordsman", directed by Zhang Jizhong, was aired on CCTV without any promotion.

Previous news were discussed again along with the TV show.

The audience scrutinized the actors from head to toe. Fans of Linghu Chong in the original work were quite unsatisfied with the actor and his performance, but some attractive co-stars became popular.

Qin Guan thought that the show had caused him more trouble. Zhang Changzhong was an idol in ladies’ hearts, but Yang Lianting had attracted a group of wired fans.

At college, he often saw a boy in red with a needle and thread in his hand, who was always pretending to be embroidering in the air. It was horrifying!

Qin Guan tried to talk to him, but failed. The boy would just look back at him with the most shy expression before running away. Qin Guan was completely confused. Maybe he is just playing dumb.

w.a.n.g Lei had a different opinion. He thought the boy was scared off by Qin Guan's hormones.

Those rotten girls on the Haijiao forum were even more terrible than male fans though. They had supreme fighting powers.

They could find countless exciting points of gay love in the formal plot, full of h.o.m.os.e.xual pa.s.sion.

Although the actor who played Dongfang Bubai was a lady, she did a really good job portraying a man.

It had to be wonderful to die in Yang Lianting's arms.

Besides, Dongfang had teased Linghu Chong with his words.

In the end, their love had shocked the leading actors, who had fulfilled their wish to be buried in the same grave. That year was also of significant meaning for those in favor of h.o.m.os.e.xuality, as the Netherlands had become the first nation to recognize h.o.m.os.e.xual marriage on January 1st, 2001.

One could understand the pa.s.sion of those crazy fans.

It was alright for Qin Guan. Other than at college, he didn't attract any special attention. The one who had influenced him the most was Ye Dong, who had resorted to extreme measures to be elected as chairman of the Student Union.

He had submitted applications for all his roommates for the 39th Capital College Sports Meeting. He had also submitted a flag-bearer application for Qin Guan.